Spain's Wider General Strike Tests a Grassroots Push Over Housing and Wages

In brief

• Spain's two largest unions have called a 24-hour general strike on 11 November, the first in over a decade, focused on housing costs and wages.
• Polling shows the public split almost evenly on the strike, with 46.3% in support and 48.8% opposed.
• Parties and employers are divided, and the strike comes 18 days before the 29 November election.

A strike built on the housing crisis

The strike began at midnight and runs for 24 hours across the country. Protesters are demanding higher wages, cheaper rent, and better public services. Housing is the main grievance, and the idea for the action came from a tenants' network rather than from workers' representatives, which sets it apart from earlier stoppages (Wie Spaniens Mieterbewegung für den Generalstreik mobilisiert – tagesschau.de) (Los sindicatos llaman a España a una huelga general por primera vez en 14 años – EL PAÍS).

The two largest unions, UGT and Comisiones Obreras, have joined the call. They are asking for nationwide rent reductions and tighter rules for real estate firms and investment funds, in addition to pay rises (Wohnungskrise: Spaniens größte Gewerkschaften rufen zu Generalstreik auf – ZEIT ONLINE). Organizers have planned protests in close to 130 towns and cities.

Divided public and political reaction

Public opinion is split. A 40dB poll for El País and the SER radio network found 46.3% of Spaniards support the strike and 48.8% oppose it. Opposition to tenant-led camps is stronger, with 53% rejecting them (La huelga divide a los españoles y más de la mitad rechaza las acampadas – EL PAÍS). Only about one in four respondents believe the government's housing measures will work.

The governing coalition backs the walkout and links it to social policies adopted during its term. The conservative People's Party, Vox and Junts have criticized the unions, and the employers' federations CEOE and Cepyme oppose the action (El Gobierno y sus socios relacionan la huelga del 11-N con avances sociales y la derecha ataca a los sindicatos – EL PAÍS). The conservative party has called the strike a preventive electoral move against a possible government led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo.

Uneven turnout expected

Union officials expect participation to vary by region, sector and age. Several have said privately that they do not expect the strike to halt economic activity across the country as earlier general strikes did (Los sindicatos se preparan para un seguimiento “desigual” de la huelga por territorios, sectores y edades – EL PAÍS). Grassroots committees, including one in the Madrid suburb of Getafe, have organized locally, drawing many young people who are not members of any union.

A recent railway accident has also shifted public mood, according to union leader Unai Sordo.

What comes next

The strike arrives 18 days before the general election scheduled for 29 November. Whether it changes the campaign agenda will depend on turnout and on whether housing stays at the top of voters' concerns.