The unions are demanding a Catalan budget with €3.6 billion more in spending.

BarcelonaThe 2026 budget is essential and must be agreed upon at all costs. The Catalan leaders of the CCOO and UGT unions, Belén López and Camil Ros, demanded this on Wednesday. New accounts for the Generalitat for next yearThrough a series of proposals that entail an increase in spending of approximately 3.6 billion euros, both organizations have called on left-wing political forces to reach an understanding and approve a budget that takes into account the needs of workers. It should be noted that the budget has been extended since 2023, although the government has made some adjustments through supplementary appropriations. Among their proposals, CCOO and UGT have prioritized the housing access crisis and demanded that policies aimed at this area reach 2% of Catalonia's GDP (combining investment from the Catalan government and the Spanish state). In this regard, they propose expanding the public housing stock to a minimum of 100,000 publicly owned properties designated for social rental (currently at 30,000) and increasing the number of subsidized housing units to 15%, reaching 450,000. According to the unions, this objective should be achieved through more intensive use of the right of first refusal (preferential acquisition rights granted by law to a person or entity to purchase a property before a third party), the purchase of vacant properties from banks, and the rehabilitation of properties currently underutilized. Both López and Ros also referred to more interventionist measures such as the application of caps on rental market prices. These housing policies would entail an expenditure of 250 million euros in the upcoming budget. "Catalonia needs a budget, and it needs it now. This slogan of shared prosperity that President [Illa] keeps repeating must become a reality," argued López, from CCOO. Another priority identified by the unions is the improvement of public transportation, infrastructure that "conditions the daily lives of the working class," and for which they propose allocating an additional 465 million euros. For example, they propose the creation of a Catalan high-speed rail network, maintaining current discounts on transport passes, and implementing the T-Mobilitat travel card throughout Catalonia.

Defense of public services

Ros argued that the new budget could accommodate this increase in social spending because government revenues through taxes have also increased in recent years, thanks to the strong economy. "The economy is growing, but this growth is uneven for the most vulnerable sectors of the population," she said. Regarding the defense of public services, the unions are also demanding an increase in the primary care budget to 25%, which translates to an additional €1.235 billion (€310 million more per year spread over four fiscal years). The message from CCOO and UGT is that drafting a new budget is a necessary step to counter the reactionary rhetoric of the far right and reinforce the idea that left-wing policies do address the needs of workers. In fact, they separated the budget agreement from any agreement on new regional financing, although they are optimistic that there will be progress on both fronts during the first quarter of next year.