The 24-hour general strike in defense of access to housing and improvement of wages, driven by CCOO, UGT, CGT, CNT, Co.Bas, Intersindical, Solidaridad Obrera, the Unión de Actores y Actrices and the Confederación de Sindicatos de Inquilinas, has begun at 0.00 hours today and will continue until 24.00 hours on Wednesday 11 November.
In workplaces with multiple shifts, the stoppage has started on the first shift, even if it had begun before 00.00 hours, and will continue until the end of the last shift, even if it goes beyond 24.00 hours this Wednesday.
In addition, on 10 November the employees whose tasks were linked to the production of goods, services or supplies with direct impact on today’s stoppage were interrupted in their activity.
A few hours before the official start of the strike, the general secretaries of CCOO and UGT, Unai Sordo and Pepe Álvarez, took part in an information picket at Puerta del Sol in Madrid and in an event together with the Unión de Actores y Actrices.
The call for 11 November represents the first nationwide work stoppage promoted by CCOO and UGT since 2012 and, therefore, the first general strike in the period with Pedro Sánchez at the head of the Government.
Launched under the slogan 'Wages. Housing. Prices', this stoppage does not have the backing of unions such as CSIF, USO or Fetico, and has received strong criticism from CEOE, which interprets the protest as having a marked political and electoral component.
Its holding, announced on the same day as the death of Maricarmen, the 87-year-old woman evicted days earlier in Madrid, takes place two days before the start of the election campaign and 18 days before the general elections on 29 November.
The unions predict an “important” but uneven level of support
CCOO and UGT expect “important” backing for the strike, although “asymmetrical” depending on the territories and the different sectors. They are aiming for a high level of follow-through in workplaces, but they believe that the real measure of success will be determined by the demonstrations called for this Wednesday.
Among the marches planned, the one in Madrid will depart at 18:00 from Atocha and will end at Plaza de España, while in Barcelona it will begin at 17:30 at the Jardinets de Gràcia. In Sevilla, the mobilization will start at 18:00 on Avenida del Cid; in Valencia, at 18:00 from Xàtiva street, and in A Coruña it will leave at 18:00 from Avenida Fisterra to Plaza de Cigarreras.
In other parts of the country, protests will take place in the morning. This is the case in Bilbao, where the demonstration organized by CCOO and UGT will begin at 11:30 in Plaza Euskadi.
However, these gatherings could be affected by the forecast of rain and wind in much of the territory, as a consequence of the latest effects of the Bruna storm system and the arrival of a new storm system, called Charles.
More than 3,600 endorsements and broad social backing
According to CCOO and UGT, the general strike has added more than 3,600 endorsements from company committees, works councils, and union sections of both organizations.
Among the supporters are representatives of companies from multiple sectors, such as Seat, Airbus, Levi Strauss, Iberia, Zara, Glovo, DomusVi or Securitas Seguridad España.
Delegations from universities, educational centers, hospitals and care homes have also joined, as well as international unions and social organizations throughout the country.
For its part, the Confederation of Tenants’ Unions (CSI) puts the number of organizations in civil society that back the general strike of this Wednesday at more than 20,000, including neighborhood associations, feminist, pensioner and student movements, environmentalist groups, and entities in the cultural and agricultural sphere.
In addition, the CSI highlights that more than 1,340 strike committees have worked in 108 cities to prepare for the mobilization day.
Minimum services and security and maintenance services
In connection with today’s strike, companies and workforces must differentiate between two types of services with different purposes, given that the staff designated to cover minimum services is required to report to their post.
Minimum services guarantee essential services for the public and are set by the competent authority through a reasoned and proportionate resolution (decree, ministerial order, or minimum services resolution). They may be imposed on both public and private companies that provide essential services.
On the other hand, security and maintenance services are aimed at safeguarding people and property, keeping premises, machinery and facilities in good condition, and ensuring that the activity can be resumed once the strike ends. These services may be required in any company, even if it does not provide an essential service.
Security and maintenance services must be limited to actions strictly necessary to ensure the protection and maintenance of the facilities, and therefore cannot be used to support production or the usual pace of work during the stoppage.
In the days leading up to it, minimum services have been gradually set for this Wednesday in sectors such as transport, Correos, energy and hydrocarbons, among others.
Some of the calling unions have denounced that the minimum services established are intended to "empty out" this Wednesday's strike.