Spain | General strike due to housing shortage

On October 3, a large crowd of people held up a banner reading “On to the general strike” during a demonstration for lower rents. The tenants' association organized the march to demand changes in housing policy and better protection for tenants. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/EUROPA PRESS/Matias Chiofalo Madrid. The major Spanish trade union federations have set November 11th as the date of the already announced general strike for higher wages and against the housing crisis. The UGT trade union federation announced on X that the date had also been coordinated with the tenant organizations. The nationwide strike is scheduled to take place 18 days before the new election scheduled by left-wing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for November 29th.

“For a decent wage, for a roof over our heads and for prices to stop overwhelming us,” the CCOO had written on the X platform. The strike was announced on Monday after conservative and right-wing populist parties in parliament rejected a government package of measures for more tenant protection.

Sánchez announced the new election after the failure of his tenant protection measures in parliament. Since 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal was forcibly removed by police two weeks ago from her apartment in Madrid, where she had lived for 70 years, tens of thousands of people have been demonstrating across the country against high rents, a lack of housing and inadequate protection against evictions. According to the tenants' association, the woman died in a hospital on Wednesday.

The parties in the left-wing coalition government, which are currently behind in the polls, hope that the outrage of many citizens about the situation on the housing market can help them gain a majority.

The Spanish employers' association CEOE described the planned strike as "unacceptable" and questioned its legality. It was obviously a “political strike.” dpa/nd

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