Teachers hold sixth strike in Madrid

Secondary school teachers in the Community of Madrid launched a sixth round of strikes Thursday to protest cuts in the region's education budget. Teachers are enraged by the authority's decision to reduce education budget by 80 million euros (110 million U.S. dollars) and introduce tax breaks, worth around 90 million euros, for parents sending their children to private schools. Teachers have seen their contact hours increased and have to teach subjects they are not good at. The budget cuts mean the end of recuperation classes for struggling students and integration classes for non-Spanish speakers, teachers said. Primary school teachers joined the strike for the first time Thursday. At least a dozen schools have organized lock-ins, while others organized cultural activities and extra classes for their students on the eve of the strike. Over 35 schools participated in what was dubbed a "green night," when parents, teachers and students took part in various activities ranging from extra classes, to theatrical events and music concerts. Thursday will see a demonstration outside the offices of the Madrid regional authority, while a march has been organized in the capital on Saturday. Further walkouts have been planned for Nov. 3 and Nov. 23. Over 60 percent of secondary school teachers joined the previous five rounds of strike. But no agreement has been reached between teachers' unions and the authority.