The teachers’ union at the Colegio de Bachilleres de Baja California Sur (Cobach) launched an indefinite strike on Monday, closing all 13 campuses statewide and leaving roughly 9,000 high school students without classes. The walkout began around noon in La Paz after contract negotiations between the union and the state government collapsed without an agreement.
The Sindicato Único de Trabajadores del Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Baja California Sur (SUTCBEBCS) rejected the government’s offer of a 4% salary increase, calling it insufficient. Union leaders say the raise falls below the inflation rate and fails to compensate for years of eroded purchasing power among the system’s 570 unionized workers.
Wage Grievances Go Back Years
The pay dispute is not new. The union had originally set a strike date of April 20 but delayed action by 30 days to allow negotiations. Those talks produced only administrative agreements with no impact on wages or benefits.
Beyond the proposed raise, the union flagged several long-standing grievances. Teacher category upgrades, which determine base pay, have been frozen for more than a decade. No permanent promotions for additional teaching hours have been granted in seven years. Workers also say income tax deductions consume between 20% and 30% of their paychecks, and the proposed raise does not apply to benefits tied to base salary.
All Campuses Closed Indefinitely
Cobach operates 13 campuses spread across Baja California Sur, from La Paz and Los Cabos to smaller communities in Mulegé, Comondú, and Loreto. Striking workers have set up permanent guards at every location. The union has not set a deadline for ending the action, and no new negotiation dates have been announced.
The strike comes against a backdrop of recurring labor conflict in BCS education. In April 2024, a separate dispute involving basic education workers left 45,000 students across the state without classes for more than a week, with highway blockades and government office takeovers in Santa Rosalía and other cities.
For families with teenagers enrolled at Cobach, there is currently no timeline for a return to the classroom. The 2026 contract review between the state government and the union remains unresolved. First reported by Colectivo Pericú and confirmed by El Universal.