Staff assigned as RTVE’s minimum service were preparing a special edition of ‘Cafè d’idees’ in Barcelona when a picket entered the studio. Shortly before the programme’s scheduled 08:00 start on 11 November, around 50 masked demonstrators arrived at RTVE’s studios on Carrer Roc Boronat, displaying strike-related banners. The intrusion stopped Gemma Nierga’s live programme, which was also due to air on La 2 Cat and Ràdio 4. Mossos d’Esquadra attended and the demonstrators left; the broadcast resumed at about 08:48, after a delay of roughly 48 minutes.
Nierga said journalists had been designated as minimum-service personnel but could not work normally. The programme had planned special coverage of the general strike, called by CCOO and UGT over housing conditions and the demand for dignified wages, with the Sindicato de Inquilinas also among the organisers. After returning to air, it ended at 10:30, half an hour earlier than its usual 11:00 finish.
Canal Sur cuts its signal
At approximately 08:20, during ‘Despierta Andalucía’, Canal Sur Televisión abruptly stopped broadcasting and its screen went black. A message from the channel blamed the interruption on the general strike and apologised to viewers. Canal Sur’s management said it had been unable to reach an agreement with the strike committee over the alternative programming planned for the day.
The signal cut came as public broadcasters were required to follow minimum-service rules set for the strike. The Andalusian framework, issued by the Dirección General de Trabajo, Seguridad y Salud Laboral and published in the Boletín Oficial de la Junta de Andalucía (BOJA), required public radio and television to maintain relevant news programming in a reduced format, with only the staff strictly necessary. It required both the production and broadcast of that information, rather than preserving the full regular schedule. Canal Sur said its proposals aimed to balance the right to strike with the public-service obligations assigned to the broadcaster.
