The unions will call a general strike for the housing crisis before 29-N

MadridThere will be a general strike over the housing crisis before the Spanish elections on November 29th. The major unions, CCOO and UGT, are supporting the stoppage demanded for days by the Tenants' Union, which this Sunday already had the support of the CGT union, as ARA has learned from sources familiar with the talks. CCOO and UGT, the two unions with the most presence in companies, had been cautious until now and were waiting for the decision Pedro Sánchez would make: whether or not to call early elections. The pressure on them, however, has grown steadily, especially after this weekend's mobilizations across the country with thousands of people taking to the streets. After a final meeting this Monday afternoon, the major unions ended up deciding to support the proposal, as they reported in a joint statement.

"UGT and CCOO agree to call a general strike this autumn. The unions are incorporating the income conflict into the framework of the major housing mobilizations. Wages are not enough to pay for housing and cope with inflation," the statement reads. Now the strike (proposed as a 24-hour one) will have to be ratified by their highest governing bodies.

After the news became known, the spokesperson for the Madrid Tenants' Union, Alicia del Río, celebrated that UGT and CCOO "have stood by a movement that has been on the streets for ten days fighting for decent housing" and pledged to work toward achieving an "authentic popular unity of all workers." Her goal is for it to be a "massive strike that paralyzes the country" and that "succeeds in winning its demands." In the morning, from the Puerta del Sol, she herself had argued that the general strike was the "only path" when looking at the rest of the mobilized sectors, such as education, healthcare, or pensioners. The Madrid Tenants' Union's intention is to announce the date and calendar of mobilizations at the end of this week.

CCOO and the UGT have been calibrating all these days how to respond to the demand to move towards a strike of these characteristics. Furthermore, in the midst of an electoral period like the one that is opening, they feared that the final objective of the strike would not be clear and that it would add "confusion". "Who is the strike against? Against the [central] government, which has not done enough? Against the right to overturn the decrees? Against the PP autonomous communities that have been blocking the state housing law for a long time?", union sources wondered to ARA. Finally, however, the two major unions have picked up the gauntlet from the Tenants' Union, which this Monday warned that "they would not wait for any electoral calendar".

A socio-labor motive

The general strike proposed by the Tenants' Union puts housing and rental prices in the spotlight, which is why CCOO and the UGT were gauging how it could fit with a socio-labor demand. The housing problem, however, affects the population's purchasing power –the upward pressure of prices consumes a large part of workers' wages–, and even many companies recognize that it is a difficulty when it comes to finding employees. This is the angle that the two unions have finally latched onto.

For CCOO and the UGT, a general strike not only calls upon the different public administrations that have jurisdiction in housing matters, but also the business organizations that "must assume that wages must guarantee access to a basic good such as housing." For the unions, the employers' association must "demonstrate" this with the renewal of the AENC –the framework agreement that serves as a guide when negotiating wages– and the unblocking of collective agreements. In contrast, this weekend the Spanish employers' association CEOE considered the possibility of going on strike for housing to be "illegal" because "it is not within the labor conflict."

The last general strike in the State was called by minority unions on October 15, 2025, for Palestine, while the last major stoppage for socio-labor reasons dates back to November 2012. In Catalonia, in October 2017, a general strike was also called against the police repression of October 1st. In the State, the call for a general strike corresponds to the workers, although it is common for their representatives or trade union organizations to be the ones calling it.