Updated on 9 October 2026: Spain’s main trade unions have set 11 November as the date for a 24-hour general strike over housing affordability and wages.
Further operational details, including minimum services, have yet to be announced.
Spain’s two largest trade union federations, UGT and CCOO, have agreed to hold a 24-hour general strike on Wednesday 11 November over housing affordability and wages.
The walkout has been scheduled just over two weeks before Spain’s general election on 29 November and two days before the official election campaign begins.
The strike has the backing of UGT, CCOO, CGT, CO.BAS and Solidaridad Obrera, according to El País. Regional unions including Galicia’s CIG and the Basque Country’s ELA and LAB also support the action.
The Confederation of Tenants’ Unions, which brings together local tenants’ organisations across Spain, confirmed that it would put forward 11 November at a meeting of convening groups. The date was later endorsed publicly by UGT.
Housing costs and wages at the centre of the strike
UGT and CCOO say the planned stoppage is for “the right to housing and decent wages to pay for it”, linking workers’ earnings to the escalating cost of renting and buying a home in Spain.
The action follows Congress’s rejection of housing-related decree-laws. UGT said the large housing demonstrations held during the preceding weekend showed the scale of public demand for action, and that the response should be developed alongside the groups behind those protests.
What UGT and CCOO are demanding
The unions have proposed pay rises of between 4% and 7%, salary-review clauses and measures intended to improve access to housing.
Their broader platform calls for:
- A permanent public stock of protected housing
- Limits on rental prices
- Effective implementation of Spain’s Right to Housing Law across all territories
UGT and CCOO said the strike is aimed at public administrations with housing powers and employer organisations.
The planned stoppage would be the first general strike backed by both UGT and CCOO during Pedro Sánchez’s presidency. It would also be the first national general strike supported by Spain’s major class-based unions in 14 years.
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