First General Strike in 14 Years Targets Housing, Splits City Hall
Barcelona's Nov. 11 general strike is the first in 14 years to demand housing action. BComú and ERC stop work; Junts, PP and Vox do not.
Spain holds a general strike on Wednesday, Nov. 11, the first 24-hour general strike backed by the major unions in 14 years and the first called to defend the right to housing, according to betevé and Ara. The main Barcelona march starts at 17.30 at Jardinets de Gràcia.
At the Ajuntament de Barcelona (city council), two of the six parties with seats stop work, three keep working, and the governing group holds no institutional agenda for the day.
Why the strike was called
The call came after the Congrés dels Diputats (the lower house of the Spanish parliament) rejected two anti-eviction decrees in early October. Votes against from Junts, the PP and Vox brought down the decrees, which contained measures for tenants and had been pushed by Pedro Sánchez’s government. Ara refers to them as the decrets Maricarmen.
The strike is backed by the major unions CCOO and UGT, by the groups of the Taula Sindical (CGT, IAC, Co.bas, CNT, COS and SO) and by housing organizations such as the Sindicat de Llogateres (tenants’ union). Their demands include higher wages, an end to the loss of purchasing power and action on the housing market. They also want the workplace risk prevention law unblocked and a shorter working week.
Ara reports that the unions call existing measures such as rent control insufficient. They want the decrees approved urgently but regard them as a stopgap for a much larger problem.
Which Barcelona council parties strike
BComú and ERC will strike as a bloc. Both voted for the housing decrees in Congress, and both will join the march led by the Sindicat de Llogateres.
Junts, the PP and Vox will work. They consider the strike to be used for political ends. Jordi Martí (Junts) and Gonzalo de Oro (Vox) will be in their offices at the Ajuntament, while Daniel Sirera (PP) will visit La Guineueta, in a tent set up with other party officials and members. None of the three will join the afternoon march.
The PSC, which runs the municipal government, will have no institutional agenda all day, as Mayor Jaume Collboni announced days earlier. betevé says that does not mean the mayor, deputy mayors and other government councillors are on strike: they will be at the Ajuntament following the day’s events.
Marches and actions
Unions and groups plan mobility cuts and information pickets across the country. The first actions begin on Tuesday, when they aim to stop night-shift workers entering sites such as Seat and Mercabarna. Information columns are planned in several Catalan counties through the morning.
- Barcelona: 17.30 at Jardinets de Gràcia. A separate march called by the Sindicat d’Habitatge Socialista de Catalunya and Solidaritat Obrera starts at 17.00 at plaça Jacint Verdaguer.
- Tarragona: 18.00 at plaça Imperial Tàrraco.
- Girona: 17.30 at plaça de l’1 d’Octubre.
- Lleida: 17.30 at plaça de Ricard Vinyes.
- Madrid: 18.00 at Atocha, ending at plaça España, after a midday gathering at plaça de la Cibeles.
What it means for the campaign
Elections are set for Nov. 29, and the campaign begins on Friday. Because of that calendar, some have accused the strike of being political, and several parties have tried to claim its demands. The organizers distance themselves from the parties. They note that the decrees fell through opposition votes but say the Spanish and Catalan governments have not done enough on housing in recent years.
The unions expect large demonstrations but anticipate uneven turnout depending on the territory and how strongly the housing crisis affects each area.
