Spain experiences a historic day: the 11N general strike for decent housing and wages begins, the first called by unions in 14 years

The first pickets have started before midnight. In Mercabarna, Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and the Unión General de Trabajadoras y Trabajadores (UGT) have positioned themselves at the accesses to inform the night shift staff. In Madrid, the mobilization has moved from Puerta del Sol to the waste collection service in Villaverde and to Mercamadrid, where Jóvenes CCOO has reported a police intervention against their picket. There have also been nocturnal mobilizations in industrial estates in Zaragoza and Murcia and in the center of Malaga, where a picket ended its route with an assembly in the Plaza de la Constitución.

Spain thus reaches the first 24-hour general strike called by CCOO and UGT since November 14, 2012, when the strike was directed against the cuts and austerity of Mariano Rajoy's Government. In these years there have been other calls at the state level, including feminist strikes, but none has brought together the two major unions again in a general strike for a whole day. This time the initiative has come from the tenants' movement and its main demand is access to housing.

"Young people of Spain, it is your day," said the general secretary of CCOO, Unai Sordo, in Sol. Beside him, the leader of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, summarized the link between the two great demands of 11N. "There is no salary that can withstand the price of housing." The call also demands a new wage agreement with employers and more resources for health, education and dependency care.

The regrettable eviction of Maricarmen brings housing to workplaces

Maricarmen Abascal was 87 years old when she was evicted on September 23 from her home in the Madrid neighborhood of Retiro. She died on October 7 in the hospital, one day before the signing of the contract that was supposed to allow her to return to her home. Between both dates, the protest at her doorway gave way to encampments and demonstrations in different cities. When Congress overturned the first two housing decrees, the tenants' movement was already demanding a general strike.

The Confederation of Tenant Unions has prepared the day in the neighborhoods together with labor organizations such as CCOO, UGT, CGT, CNT, and Co.Bas. In Galicia and Euskadi, unions with their own presence have joined, such as the Galician Inter-union Confederation (CIG), ELA, and LAB. CCOO estimates more than 4,500 adhesions from company committees, staff boards, and union sections, with representation in factories such as Seat and Airbus, large stores, hospitals, and universities. The data measures the support of employee representatives. The turnout will be known throughout the day, and the unions themselves expect differences between sectors and territories.

The call comes with salaries agreed in collective bargaining up 3.06% until October, compared to the 4.9% year-on-year inflation anticipated by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). Housing purchases became 12.2% more expensive in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2025. This gap helps explain why rent has entered the conversation of company committees. A salary increase loses its impact when a large part of the paycheck goes to paying for housing, and the cost of moving limits how far one can look for work.

From early morning pickets to marches in more than 130 localities

The organizers' agenda includes more than 150 events, including pickets, concentrations, and demonstrations. In Madrid, there will be a concentration at 12:00 in Cibeles, and the unitary march will depart at 18:00 from Atocha towards Plaza de España. In Barcelona, the unitary mobilization will start at 17:30 from the Jardinets de Gràcia, after a morning with picket lines in different parts of the city. In Valencia, there is an informative picket at 12:15 at Estació del Nord, and the afternoon march will begin at 18:00 on Xàtiva street.

In Galicia, the CIG has called marches at noon, and housing platforms have called for 18:00 in Plaza del Obradoiro, in Santiago, and in Praza dos Cabalos, in Vigo. Bilbao has calls at 12:30 at the City Hall and at 18:00 in Plaza Elíptica. The Seville march will depart at 18:00 from Prado de San Sebastián. Zaragoza will have two demonstrations at the same time, from the Paraninfo and Puerta del Carmen.

There will also be marches at 12:00 from the Trade Union House in Gijón, at 18:30 from Plaza de España in Palma, and at 19:00 from Plaza Circular in Murcia. In the Canary Islands, the events will be at 17:30 in Plaza Weyler in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and at 18:00 in Santa Catalina Park in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, both at island time. The committees keep the map of calls by locality updated.

The strike will last until midnight, with adapted schedules in centers that work in shifts. In Renfe, minimum services are 75% in Cercanías during peak hours and 50% the rest of the day, an average of 65% in Media Distancia and 73% in High Speed and Long Distance. These figures correspond to scheduled services and strike participation is measured separately.

Street pressure reaches the rental vote tomorrow

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has defended the right to strike and the second vice-president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, has encouraged participation. The Frente Amplio has put its pre-campaign events aside to join the mobilizations and Podemos candidate, Irene Montero, will attend the Madrid march with the party's general secretary, Ione Belarra. Montero has directed her criticism both at real estate funds and at governments that, in her opinion, have allowed them to act without restraint.

The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has called the strike "nonsense" due to its proximity to the elections. The regional president of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, has asked him to end what she called "union trash", and Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right Vox, has questioned whether the strike should be legal. Junts also rejects the call. The unions have extended their demands to the Government, to the autonomous communities and to the city councils, which intervene in issues such as public housing or the regulation of tourist apartments, and to the employers' association, to which they demand that they sit down to negotiate salaries.

The first decision will come before the campaign begins. This Thursday, with the Cortes dissolved, the Permanent Deputation of the Congress will vote separately on the two housing decrees. The broader one allows requesting, with conditions, up to two additional years of rent for certain contracts and contemplates the suspension of evictions of vulnerable households without housing alternatives in the cases established by the norm, until the end of 2030. It also limits certain housing purchases by large holders and funds. The second establishes compensation for tenants when the owner decides not to renew in the foreseen cases.

In October, the PP, the far-right Vox, Junts and UPN overturned the two previous texts. This time, the composition of the Permanent Deputation leaves the result in the hands of the PNV, which has announced its support for the broader decree and its rejection of the one on indemnities. With the announced votes, the first would pass by 35 to 34 and the second would be without a majority. The campaign for the November 29 elections will begin at midnight, a few hours after that double vote.