Barcelona’s ombudsman, the Sindicatura de Greuges de Barcelona, has told Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) to make Catalan language requirements clear in its job adverts, after upholding a complaint from Plataforma per la Llengua.
The complaint said some recruitment processes at the public transport operator did not clearly set out whether Catalan was required. TMB runs Barcelona’s metro and much of its bus network, so the wording of these notices matters for jobs that deal with residents and commuters every day.
According to Plataforma per la Llengua, TMB has already corrected at least one recruitment process for new bus drivers so candidates must be able to speak Catalan. TMB publishes live and completed recruitment calls on its selection processes page and through its transparency portal.
The issue sits within Barcelona City Council’s 2022 labour recruitment instruction, which says calls must define the linguistic requirements of the post, including Catalan where applicable. The ombudsman’s position supports that approach and means future TMB notices should not leave the language requirement implied or unclear.
For readers following wider city issues, BARNA also covers local transport and public policy. See our Community coverage for more Barcelona stories, and our Sport tag for a different part of city life.
People applying for TMB jobs can check the wording of current notices before applying. Residents who want to raise a complaint about a public-facing service can use TMB’s own complaints channel or the official route through the Sindicatura de Greuges de Barcelona.
Primary sources: Barcelona City Council, TMB recruitment page, TMB transparency portal, TMB complaints channel.
