In Palma held on Wednesday Teachers, students and families demonstrated for affordable housing, better pay and more funding for education. The Spanish National Police provisionally estimated the number of participants at around 1,700. According to the organisers, there were more than 4,000, the newspaper Última Hora reported.
The protest on 11 November 2026 took place as part of a general strike called across Spain. In the capital of the Balearic Islands it was one of several announced rallies. Employees and learners from the education sector, as well as families, joined the march. They linked calls for affordable housing with criticism of working conditions in schools.
The march began at Plaça del Tub and went through the centre of Palma, including along Via Roma and Plaça d’Espanya, to Parc de les Estacions. According to Última Hora, the demonstration passed off without incident. The report said it had been called by an anti-capitalist committee and an assembly of teachers. The education union STEI, the Xarxa 0-3 network and organisations for tenants and housing also took part.
STEI spokesperson Catalina Bibiloni said teachers’ salaries were not keeping pace with rising prices. She also criticised large classes, a lack of resources and outdated infrastructure. According to regional broadcaster IB3, her union is calling for better conditions for teachers and public education, as well as adequate housing for the entire population.
The union said it had monitored strike participation at 180 educational establishments. Around half of the teachers there had stopped work, Bibiloni said. This figure comes from the union and does not indicate participation across all schools in the Balearic Islands. Nor should the number of demonstrators be equated with the number of strikers.
The newspaper Ara Balears reported that participation varied between individual schools. At several secondary schools, many students had stayed away from lessons. The newspaper cited examples from Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza but these do not allow for an estimate covering all the establishments in the island group.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).