The Tenants' Union calls for a 24-hour strike on November 11 against rental prices. CCOO, UGT, CGT, Cobas, Solidaridad Obrera, CIG, ELA and LAB support the first general strike since 2012.
The Tenants' Union has called a 24-hour general strike for November 11, focused on housing and rental prices. The call is backed by CCOO and UGT, along with CGT, Cobas, Solidaridad Obrera, CIG, ELA and LAB, according to moncloa.com.
The strike comes in a political context marked by an outgoing government and already called general elections. The employers' association considers it a political strike and claims it could be illegal, while the organisers defend that there are precedents for mixed strikes endorsed by the courts.
Carlos Gutiérrez, from the Studies Secretariat of CCOO, explains the nature of the call: "In general, in democracy, general strikes have been called to halt attacks, to defend ourselves. Today we are facing a general strike on the offensive."
"We have been talking with the Tenants' Union since March," confirm sources from CCOO.
The immediate trigger was the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal Martín, aged 87, who was removed on a stretcher on September 23 and later passed away. The image of her leaving the home precipitated a call that had already been brewing for months.
Institutionally, frustration grew when the government urgently brought two housing decrees to Congress with measures to limit speculation and protect vulnerable people. PP, Vox and Junts rejected both texts, prompting shouts of "shame" and "general strike" at the doors of the Chamber.
With just over a month to go, the organisers are activating assemblies, strike committees, and meetings in neighbourhoods, faculties, and study centres to extend the strike to workplaces across the country. The main uncertainty is the participation among young people and older workers, where property ownership is concentrated, as noted by UGT leader Pepe Álvarez: "For their children."
Carmen Arcarazo, from the Tenants' Union, highlights the unprecedented nature of the call: "What is happening is historic. Not only because all the major unions have called the strike, but also because the housing union organisation is joining in."
The general strike on November 11 will be the first since 2012, when the strike was directed against the cuts and austerity of Mariano Rajoy's government. Fourteen years later, the reason is the price of rent.
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