Spain Faces 24-Hour General Strike Over Housing Crisis
Unions say the walkout could disrupt transport, schools and public services as they press for lower rents and stronger tenant protections.
- On Wednesday, November 11, 2026, millions of Spanish workers participated in a 24-hour general strike, paralyzing transport and industry to demand government action on the nation's severe housing affordability crisis.
- Nationwide outrage over the September eviction and death of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal fueled the walkout, as soaring rents and a structural deficit of 750,000 homes leave many citizens unable to afford housing.
- Major unions UGT and CCOO reported 90% participation in automotive and port sectors, though police pepper-sprayed protesters at Madrid's Mercamadrid wholesale market, leaving at least 13 people seeking medical attention.
- Opposition parties dismissed the protest as a political maneuver ahead of the November 29 snap election, with Popular Party spokesperson Miguel Tellado calling it an "election strike" rather than a labor action.
- With the snap election approaching, the strike underscores intense political polarization over housing, as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faces trailing polls and a potential challenge from a far-right coalition.
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Workers in Spain went on strike as protesters march and protest in Madrid and Barcelona in the face of housing crisis.
More than 20 percent of working Spaniards are participating in a nationwide strike today. They are downing tools for higher salaries, access to housing, and lower prices.
The workers in Spain began a general strike today, challenging the stormy weather, and set up points of a massive protest against the country ' s high housing cost crisis less than three weeks before the early elections were held.
The frustration over rising rents and evictions is great in Spain. The protest leads to the first general strike in 14 years. 90 percent of employees in the car industry alone, according to the trade unions, followed the calls for strikes.
Almost 99% of the average monthly salary of a young person is required to pay rent – Clashes with the police and reports of 20 injuries – Large turnout in ports and automotive industries, ahead of the November 29 elections
Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards suffered inconvenience on their commute on Wednesday morning as protesters disrupted traffic in the country as a general strike broke out over a deepening housing crisis.
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