Education negotiations in the Valencian Community continue with new fronts following the temporary suspension of the indefinite teachers' strike. This Tuesday, July 7, the Sectoral Committee of Education He addressed two issues that are particularly sensitive for Valencian teachers: the regulation of the six paid days off and the modification of the leave for teachers with sons or daughters affected by cancer or another serious illness.
The Ministry of Education, Culture y Universities transferred to the trade union organizations the Instruction 1/2026This law, which for the first time specifically regulates paid personal leave for non-university teaching staff employed by the Generalitat, develops the agreement signed on May 25 between the Conselleria and ANPE and CSIF, which contemplated the implementation of six days of discretionary leave starting from the 2026/2027 academic year.
According to the Education Department's plan, teachers will be able to enjoy up to six days per school year, Distributed in three days during the school term and three during the non-school termThe period of enjoyment will run from September 1st to August 31st of the following year.
Six days of free time, but with restrictions
The Ministry's proposal establishes a regulated procedure for requesting these permits. Applications must be submitted with a minimum notice of fifteen calendar days and a maximum of two months, will be subject to the organizational needs of the center and will require prior authorization from management.
The text also sets periods during which these days cannot be granted, such as first fifteen and last fifteen school days of the course, the days before and after major holiday periods or dates coinciding with assessments.
Furthermore, the regulations include limits on simultaneous leave based on the size of each school. In schools with up to 20 teachers, only one teacher may take the leave on the same school day, while in schools with more than 81 teachers, the limit is raised to five. The proposal also stipulates that teachers taking leave must plan the activities that students will carry out during their absence.
The Director General of Teaching Staff, Paul OrtegaHe argued that the six days of discretionary leave would constitute «a new right for Valencian teachers"Starting next school year. According to him, the regulation aims to guarantee both work-life balance and professional autonomy for teachers, as well as the proper functioning of educational centers."
CSIF supports the agreement and asks that it not become a residual permit
Following the meeting, the unions made public their comments and objections to this announcement. CSIF, for its part, asserted that the six days of discretionary leave are possible thanks to the agreement signed with the Regional Ministry of Education on May 25th, a fact also emphasized by the Regional Ministry in its press release, and argued that this represents a new right for Valencian teachers.
However, the union has also warned that the regulations cannot be so restrictive that they end up making the leave a difficult right to exercise. Therefore, it has demanded reduce minimum application periods, allow urgent requests and establish clear legal guarantees so that refusals must be justified, in writing and with the possibility of appeal.
CSIF has also called for the elimination of blanket bans during certain periods of the academic year and their replacement with a case-by-case assessment. In their view, restrictions during assessments should be limited to the dates on which specific sessions are held and only when no alternative arrangement exists.
The union has also argued that at least two days can be enjoyed consecutivelyespecially for personal errands, travel, or tasks that require more than one day. It has also requested a review of the scale for granting simultaneous leave by center, particularly in larger ones, and protection of the rights of temporary staff so that they do not lose accrued days in the event of termination and reappointment within the same academic year.
STEPV demands that all six days be school days
STEPV has taken advantage of the Sectoral Committee to demand a broader update of the Decree 234 / 2022 of permits and licenses, with the aim of expanding work-life balance measures for teaching staff.
The union has pointed out that many of its proposals had already been put forward previously, such as extending working hours reductions for people over 55, permits for personal reasons, care for minors resting at home without prior hospitalization, recovery of study leave or artistic permits.
Regarding the six days of discretionary leave, STEPV believes that they should be six school daysand not three teaching days and three non-teaching days as proposed by the Regional Ministry. It has also requested that the school administration respond to the request within a maximum of two business days.
The union proposes reducing the general application period from fifteen to seven calendar days and to expressly consider unforeseen situations. It also calls for reducing restrictions at the beginning and end of the school year, eliminating the prohibition related to the days before and after holidays, and allowing the consecutive use of these leave periods, considering that sufficient organizational control mechanisms already exist.
CCOO warns that so many restrictions could prevent the real enjoyment of the right
CCOO has also warned that the accumulation of "restrictions" proposed by the Ministry could seriously hinder the actual use of personal days.
The union argues that this new right should only be denyable for service needs duly justified and in writing, and not through generic references to the organization of the center.
The CCOO union demands that, as a general rule, days off can be taken consecutively, unless otherwise justified. Furthermore, in the event of a denial, the school administration should offer an alternative date within the same academic year.
The organization has also called for a review of the limits on simultaneous attendance and better regulation of large centers, especially those with more than 100 teachers, so that the leave can actually be exercised.
UGT denounces a regulation "full of bureaucratic obstacles"
UGT has been particularly critical of the Ministry's proposal and has denounced that the regulations are «full of bureaucratic obstacles and limitations"which, in their opinion, prevent the real exercise of a right recognized at the state level by the TREBEP."
The union believes that, instead of facilitating work-life balance, the regulation shifts the pressure directly onto school administrators and staff. According to UGT, teachers may be forced to expose their private lives to management to justify the need for a personal day, while school leadership teams are left in an awkward position having to decide on leave based on criteria that the union considers insufficiently objective.
The UGT proposes replacing blanket bans with flexible regulations, where the rule is to allow the right and denial is an exception justified on an individual basis. It also calls for a streamlined response system, with tacit approval, and specific guarantees to ensure that temporary staff do not lose days accrued between contracts.
Although the six days of discretionary leave stem from an agreement signed by the Regional Ministry of Education with ANPE and CSIF, the ongoing union debate reveals that its practical implementation remains contentious. The fundamental question is whether these new leave days will be a genuine and accessible right for teachers, or whether the restrictions imposed by the Ministry will ultimately limit their practical application in schools.
The negotiation will now continue with union input on both documents and with other pending meetings related to the demands that motivated the education strike.
Leave for children with cancer or other serious illness
The Sectoral Committee also addressed the modification of the leave for the care of children with cancer or other serious illnesses, a particularly sensitive issue for teachers affected by highly complex family situations.
The regional ministry announced its intention to simplify the administrative procedures related to these permits. According to Pablo Ortega, the goal is to reduce the bureaucratic burden on families and streamline the process.
«We want to make the procedures as easy as possible for teachers who are going through particularly complex family situations."The Director General of Teaching Staff stated, defending the need to eliminate unnecessary procedures and offer a more agile, accessible, and effective response."
The unions demand that the medical report be the central criterion
The unions agree in demanding that the determining criterion for granting and calculating these permits be the medical report and the real need for direct, continuous and permanent care of the child.
CSIF has called for the elimination of the exceptional circumstances under which working hours can be reduced by up to 99%. In their view, when a medical report exists that certifies this need, it should not be treated as an extraordinary situation, but as a right.
STEPV is also demanding that the reduction be extended to 99,9% and not limited to exceptional cases. The union argues that the child's school attendance cannot be used as a criterion for reducing the percentage granted, because the need for care can be continuous even if the child attends school for only a few hours.
CCOO has also argued that the child's school attendance cannot be used as a filter to limit the reduction, and has demanded greater protection in cases of disability equal to or greater than 65%.
UGT has insisted on the need to eliminate subjective criteria and decouple the leave from schooling, arguing that the percentage should be determined primarily by the specialist's report, the intensity of the care required and the age at which the disease begins.
Less bureaucracy and more guarantees for families with chronic illnesses
Another point shared by the trade union organizations is the need to simplify procedures in cases of chronic, irreversible or permanent illnesses.
CSIF welcomes the proposal that reduces paperwork for those who already had the permit granted. courses previous ones, but calls for an even simpler system to prevent families from having to repeatedly prove medical situations that are not going to change.
The UGT union proposes automatic renewal of leave for chronic or irreversible illnesses, or renewal through a self-declaration, requiring a new medical report only if clinical changes occur. It also demands an expedited 48-hour procedure in cases of hospital admission, relapse, or clinical deterioration.
The unions are also requesting that the leave can be processed from July 1st and be effective from the start of the school year, even retroactively if the delay is attributable to the administration. Furthermore, they are asking that it can be extended throughout the month of July if medical needs persist.
Temporary staff, age limits and professional rights
The regulation of the permit also particularly affects temporary staff or teachers who have not yet been assigned a position at the start of the course.
CCOO has requested that provisional or conditional applications can be submitted when the person does not yet have an assigned center, to prevent the temporary lack of a destination from delaying the protection of a right linked to a serious family situation.
UGT also demands that temporary staff be able to submit the documentation before the allocation of a position, so that the application is resolved automatically when they are assigned a destination.
The unions also agree in calling for the elimination of the age limits of 23 and 26 years when certain serious illnesses or clinical situations generate a dependency that extends beyond those ages.
They also demand that the enjoyment of the leave not prejudice the administrative, professional or remuneration rights of the teacher, including transfer competitions, service commissions, six-year periods, professional career or time of service rendered.
Other pending issues after the education strike
During the open discussion, STEPV also raised various outstanding issues related to the allocation schedule, future meetings on the topics that motivated the strike, and other open educational conflicts.
According to the union, the vacancies for career civil servants, trainees and temporary staff will be published this Thursday, July 9, and the allocation will take place on Monday the 13th.
The meeting also addressed the schedule of pending meetings regarding issues related to the teachers' strike. According to STEPV, the Director General of Personnel confirmed that the staffing issue would be negotiated on July 21st or 23rd, although no dates were set for the other topics.
The union also conveyed protests about the difficulties in creating Valencian-language groups in centers such as Les Foies d'Elx, the IES Joan Fuster in Sueca, El Romeral d'Alcoi, the Bernat Guinovart d'Algemesí or the IES Pere d'Esplugues in La Pobla Llarga.
Furthermore, he expressed his rejection of Decree 91/2026, which allows the incorporation of cross-curricular subjects or content to promote bullfighting in the street, and conveyed complaints from more than 300 centers regarding the obligation to attend in person in July.
