On November 11th the general strike for housing and the loss of purchasing power takes place. The decision on whether or not to strike is a right protected by Article 28 of the Spanish Constitution and, therefore, in the event that a worker decides to join it, the company cannot sanction them, neither directly nor indirectly. However, going on strike does have an impact on the pockets of workers who decide not to work.

Montse Sánchez (l'Hospitalet de Llobregat, 1981) combines her leadership of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT, the third largest union in terms of membership in Catalonia) with her job at Seat, from which she is not released from work duties. The union is one of the main promoters of the general strike called for next November 11 throughout the State, and it participates in initiatives such as the Strike House (Casa de la Vaga), located at the central faculty of the University of Barcelona. Currently, the CGT is in a moment of great expansion. According to them, the increase in members is mainly due to their commitment to conflict.

Belén López (Masies de Voltregà, 1976) has been the general secretary of CCOO of Catalonia for a year and a half. The union leader assures ARA that she expects the strike to be a success, as the public feels “challenged”. López asserts that, on the 11th, CCOO will play a key role in stopping the main Catalan workplaces: "We will steer the closure of companies and, as is to be expected, we will participate in all activities that take place with the prominence that comes with being the leading union in Catalonia".

This Monday, the majority unions –CCOO and UGT– began the final stretch towards the general strike of November 11th with a large joint assembly in Cornellà de Llobregat. The event, which brought together some 2,500 members from both organizations, called for raising wages and lowering the price of housing. The leaders of the country's main trade union organizations also took the opportunity to criticize the employers' association and right-wing parties. "Between the homeland and the flag, they always choose the wallet," stated the general secretary of UGT of Catalonia, Camil Ros.

It has been a decade since Camil Ros (Vallromanes, 1972) has been at the head of the UGT of Catalonia. In conversation with ARA, the union leader explains that since he became independent in the center of Girona at 25 years old, he has lived in rented accommodation. At that time, as he says, he earned 175,000 pesetas doing a technical job, and the rent for a two-bedroom apartment cost him 50,000 pesetas a month. "This generational reality is, as of now, unthinkable," laments the union leader.

A strike on the "offensive". This is how the general secretary of Comissions Obreres de Catalunya, Belén López, defined the general strike scheduled for November 11th this Thursday, the first 24-hour strike in 14 years. "It is an opportunity for trade unionism to change its stride," assured the leader of the Principality's majority union in a meeting with journalists, adding that "the era of reaching agreements has ended, unfortunately."

The platform Ens Costa la Vida, the Tenants' Union (Sindicat de Llogateres), and the Trade Union Table of Catalonia –a coordination space that brings together various alternative unions such as the CGT– have announced that the main demonstration for the 24-hour strike for housing and wages on November 11th will take place at Jardinets de Gràcia, in Barcelona, at 5:30 PM. As union sources explain, before the announcement, the proposal had not been previously conveyed to the major unions, although, according to them, CCOO has already decided to call for a demonstration at the same location, and everything suggests that the UGT will decide the same.