Spain’s two biggest unions, CCOO and UGT, have agreed to call a 24-hour general strike demanding higher wages to address the country’s deepening housing crisis. The move comes as political uncertainty grows ahead of early elections.
The proposed walkout would last 24 hours, with CCOO and UGT seeking higher wages so workers can afford housing. Reports from Democrata and AFP say the unions announced their intentions on October 5, but their top committees must still approve the action and set a date with housing groups. It would be Spain’s first nationwide strike in more than ten years not tied to a single workplace dispute.
On Monday, union leaders sealed the deal after pressure from the Sindicato de Inquilinas and other housing activists. These groups have pushed for a full-scale strike, saying it is the only way to force politicians and business leaders to address soaring rents and flat wages. The Sindicato de Inquilinas, a basic voice in tenant protests, said the strike date would be set jointly with CCOO and UGT. Housing movements now have real sway over union priorities. AFP, citing Idealista, reported that average rents in Spain have nearly doubled over the past decade, while asking prices for housing have risen by about 90%.
AFP reported that the immediate trigger was the Spanish parliament’s rejection on October 2 of government decrees that would have automatically extended rental contracts and limited evictions of vulnerable tenants. Mass protests erupted in Madrid and other cities the next day.
CCOO and UGT laid out their goal in a joint statement: “The general strike challenges public administrations responsible for housing and calls on employers to accept that wages must guarantee access to a basic good like housing.” The unions want workers to take action at work and in the streets. They promise to keep up the fight “until housing stops being a privilege and salaries allow people to live with dignity.” Their official stance, posted on the CCOO website, goes beyond the strike: they want rent controls and a permanent social housing fund, and they want the right to housing law fully enforced.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called snap elections for November 29 just days ago, throwing Spanish politics into turmoil. The unions’ decision comes amid uncertainty and legal concerns. Spanish law bans strikes called only for political reasons, a point raised by the employers’ group CEOE. CCOO and UGT say the action addresses the direct link between low wages and unaffordable housing. They point to stalled collective bargaining and the ongoing “conflict of rents.”
CCOO and UGT are basic to the action: without them, a strike would have little economic bite. The Sindicato de Inquilinas and CGT had already announced their own 24-hour action, but the major unions have the reach to disrupt Spain’s basic industries. Their last general strike was in 2012, when they opposed austerity and labor reforms under Mariano Rajoy. The situation is different now. Spain leads the EU in growth and jobs, but the housing crisis and inflation have eroded paychecks as the country’s political future remains uncertain.
As reported earlier, the housing crisis now sits at the center of Spanish politics. Lawmakers are deadlocked, and public anger is rising. The unions’ call opens a new stage in the dispute over who pays for Spain’s housing emergency, as labor challenges both government and business.
By linking the right to housing with wage talks, CCOO and UGT are bringing the issue onto the national stage while politicians focus on the coming election. The unions are betting that their organizing power and public frustration will force change, and say they will not back down until the link between wages and housing is addressed directly. In Spain, where living costs have outpaced wages for years, the strike could test whether the country’s social contract still holds.
