Madrid Public Universities Launch Strikes Over Funding Cuts

• The Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and King Juan Carlos University (URJC) will begin their first strike on October 14, protesting funding cuts and poor working conditions.
• A region-wide strike involving all higher education institutions in Madrid is planned for November 4 and 5.
• The protest movement opposes the Madrid regional government's chronic underfunding and perceived privatization efforts within public education.

Grievances and Context

• University stakeholders report that 15 years of financial stagnation have led to deteriorating faculty working conditions, crumbling infrastructure, and compromised educational quality.
• Public investment in Madrid’s universities remains at 0.4% of GDP, far below both the 0.7% national average and the 1.0% mandated by state law.
• The university community has labeled the regional government's latest multi-year funding plan as a "disguised privatization" that undermines public institutions.

Link to Housing Crisis

• Students and faculty have explicitly linked their movement to the ongoing housing crisis in Madrid, arguing that the right to education is ineffective when students and staff cannot afford housing.
• Under the slogan "no education without housing," the protesters are collaborating with broader social movements to highlight how rent prices and the lack of decent living conditions are impeding academic life and recruitment of researchers.