Madrid’s public-school teachers completed the second day of an open-ended strike on Thursday. Thousands gathered outside the Education Department on Calle Alcalá (20minutos, Europa Press, El País); the Government Delegation speaks of 10,000 people (Europa Press). Unions put turnout at 60% and the Community at 32.2% (El País, 20minutos), and 20minutos adds that it was lower than on the first day. They demand fewer pupils per classroom and a rise in the regional specific pay supplement for teachers (20minutos). El Mundo reports that the Community believes participation will fade within a few days, although the strike would run until Nov. 29. Separately, the National Police opened an investigation into the police charges at the Complutense at the start of the strike (RTVE), and the Government promised to investigate what happened after the university itself asked for explanations (Telecinco).
The conflict combines pay and class sizes with a pre-campaign in which the PSOE and Más Madrid want to use the mobilizations against Ayuso (El País). It also adds to the standoff over the Puerta del Sol camp, which pits the Community against the Government Delegation.
If you have children in a public school in Madrid, check your school’s notices: El Mundo explains the minimum services and what happens with after-school activities and the canteen. If not, the outcome will show how much weight education carries in the Madrid campaign.
For those who called it, a one-day stoppage puts no pressure on the regional government: they must hold out “as long as it takes” (El Mundo).
For the Community, the strike is “incomprehensible” and its strength will wane over the days (El País, El Mundo).
Two turnout figures as far apart as 60% and 32.2% cannot be reconciled with what has been published: no outlet explains how they are calculated or offers an independent count. What can be verified is the rally outside the Department and the investigation opened into the Complutense charges. Today the gauge is simple: how many teachers are still on the street on the third day and whether the regional education chief opens a negotiating table.
20minutos, El País, Europa Press, El Mundo, RTVE, Telecinco, elDiario.es, ABC · Oct. 14–15, 2026
Madrid teachers’ open-ended strike enters its second day with lower turnout and thousands of teachers outside the Education Department
Unions put participation at 60% and the Community at 32.2%. The National Police are investigating the police charges at the Complutense at the start of the strike.
Madrid’s public-school teachers completed the second day of an open-ended strike on Thursday. Thousands of teachers gathered outside the Education Department (Consejería de Educación) on Calle Alcalá to defend “public education” (20minutos, Europa Press, El País). The Government Delegation speaks of 10,000 people, according to Europa Press; we have not seen another independent figure. They are asking the regional education chief for fewer pupils per classroom and a rise in the regional specific pay supplement for teachers (20minutos). elDiario.es and El Mundo agree in calling the mobilization “historic,” and El Mundo describes it as “sine die”: “Stopping for one day is no use. We will hold out as long as it takes,” El Mundo headlined. Five teachers tell El País that “the situation makes it impossible” to provide a quality service and that their work “has become a merry-go-round of sick leave for anxiety.” elDiario.es reports the slogan “Public education is fighting.”
Turnout was lower than on the first day, according to 20minutos. The unions put it at 60% (CC OO, according to El País) and the Community of Madrid at 32.2% (20minutos). None of the outlets reviewed offers an independent count that would allow a choice between the two figures. In its editorial, El País argues that the strike reveals structural problems shared by much of Spain that cannot be ignored. El Mundo adds that the regional government believes participation will fade within a few days, although the teachers’ strike would run until Nov. 29, the date of the general election.
The first day also left an incident at the Complutense University. The National Police opened an investigation into the police charges at the start of the strike (RTVE); the Complutense asked for explanations and the Government promised to investigate what happened (Telecinco). The government of Isabel Díaz Ayuso had called the strike “incomprehensible” and defended the police action (El País).
El País recalls that Madrid teachers are among the worst paid in Spain despite living in an expensive region, and among those who teach the most hours. The discontent reaches the Madrid Assembly: according to El País, the PSOE and Más Madrid want to use the mobilizations to corner Ayuso, who returns to the chamber with the strike and the Puerta del Sol camp as a backdrop. That camp, in place since Sept. 26 because of the housing crisis (ABC), pits the Community against the Government Delegation: Madrid denounces an “accumulation of urine” in the metro ventilation shafts and demands an eviction (20minutos). Today it is worth watching whether participation holds, whether the regional education chief opens a negotiation and what comes of the Complutense investigation.