{"id":4208,"date":"2026-11-11T14:03:46","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T09:03:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=4208"},"modified":"2026-11-11T14:03:46","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T09:03:46","slug":"workers-across-spain-stage-first-general-strike-in-14-years-in-anger-over-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=4208","title":{"rendered":"Workers across Spain stage first general strike in 14 years in anger over housing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Spanish workers went on a general strike on Wednesday, setting up \u200bpicket lines despite stormy weather in a mass protest against the country\u2019s housing affordability crisis a few weeks before \u200ca snap general election<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is the first general strike in 14 years to be jointly backed by Spain\u2019s two largest unions, UGT and CCOO, as well as other labour organisations and tenants\u2019 associations angry about rising rents and evictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe won\u2019t stop until we transform this country\u2019s housing model from top to bottom so \u200bthat houses are for living instead of being at the service of the rentier minority,\u201d said Alicia del Rio, spokesperson \u200bfor the Madrid Tenants\u2019 Union, as the strike began at midnight.<\/p>\n

Spain has a deficit of about 750,000 homes, \u2060which is set to grow to more than a million by 2028, according to the central bank.<\/p>\n

With fewer people able to afford \u200ba home, renting has increased sharply, putting pressure on that market.<\/p>\n

The average rental price of \u20ac1,176 ($1,315) is equivalent to about 98.7% of a \u200byoung person\u2019s average monthly salary in Spain, according to the Youth Council of Spain.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Early turnout strongest at ports, auto plants<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Plans for massive protest marches in the afternoon were threatened by two storms, dubbed Charles and Bruna, that led weather agency AEMET to issue alerts for 14 regions over strong winds, rough seas and \u200bheavy rains.<\/p>\n

According to UGT and CCOO, early participation in the strike reached 90% at ports and in the automotive sector, with \u201ctotal stoppages\u201d \u200breported at factories including Volkswagen\u2019s in Navarre and SEAT\u2019s in Barcelona.<\/p>\n

The unions also put early turnout at 85% in the meat industry, 82% in waste collection and 75% \u200cin \u2060the energy sector.<\/p>\n

They said participation was lower in healthcare and social services, at 38%, and at 35% in the postal service.<\/p>\n

Tensions flared at the start of the strike at Madrid\u2019s Mercamadrid wholesale market, where about 1,000 protesters gathered.<\/p>\n

CCOO\u2019s Madrid branch said on X that police fired pepper spray at pickets and arrested one of them, with 13 people requiring medical attention.<\/p>\n

A police spokesperson confirmed the arrest but not the use \u200bof pepper spray, although he \u200bsaid it was used to \u2060disperse a separate picket line in the Carabanchel district.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Election gamble<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The strike follows weeks of demonstrations and encampments provoked by the eviction and subsequent death<\/a> of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid.<\/p>\n

Those protests, along with parliament\u2019s rejection<\/a> last month \u200bof government decrees aimed at curbing evictions and limiting rent pressures, prompted Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez \u200bto call an election \u2060for November 29.<\/p>\n

The government has largely blamed the right-wing opposition running many regions and municipalities for rising rents and insufficient housing supply.<\/p>\n

Sanchez, whose Socialist Party lags in opinion polls<\/a>, hopes to harness voter resentment over housing and shift the political narrative away from a series of corruption cases<\/a> involving his inner circle \u2060and a \u200bdeadly train crash last month.<\/p>\n

But union leaders and many of the protesters have \u200bsaid they also hold the central government responsible for the housing crisis, as well as for Spain\u2019s second fatal train crash this year.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, train drivers walked out<\/a> to demand \u200bmore investment in maintenance and safety, causing widespread travel disruption.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spanish workers went on a general strike on Wednesday, setting up \u200bpicket lines despite stormy weather in a mass protest against the country\u2019s housing affordability crisis a few weeks before \u200ca snap general election. It is the first general strike in 14 years to be jointly backed by Spain\u2019s two largest unions, UGT and CCOO, as well as other labour organisations and tenants\u2019 associations angry about rising rents and evictions. \u201cWe won\u2019t stop until we transform this country\u2019s housing model from top to bottom so \u200bthat houses are for living…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4208","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4208\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}