Riot police crack down on syndicalists at the entrance to the Chamartín paramedic bus garage in Madrid, Spain, November 11, 2026. Spain’s two largest trade unions, the General Union of Trabajadores (UGT) and the Committee of Obreras (CCOO), have called for a 24-hour national general strike as part of ongoing demonstrations over the country’s housing and cost of living crisis.
Pablo Blazquez Dominguez | Getty Images
Millions of Spanish workers are expected to take part in the country’s first general strike in 14 years on Wednesday as anger over soaring rents and living costs intensifies with less than three weeks to go before a general election.
Demonstrators and police clashed at Madrid’s wholesale market early on in the strike, and there were reports of road closures early Wednesday morning.
The 24-hour labor strike is expected to disrupt public transport and flights and bring some businesses, stores and factories to a standstill.
Spain’s largest trade union calls for strike
Housing costs have been a particular source of frustration for demonstrators. Rents have nearly doubled in the past decade, straining household budgets as many workers find homeownership out of reach.
The Bank of Spain estimates that the country faces a housing shortage of 750,000 homes, which could rise to 1 million over the next two years.
Spain’s two largest trade unions, CCOO and UGT, which called for the strike, are calling for greater government intervention in the housing market. Housing activists are demanding an end to tourist rentals and automatic renewal of rental contracts, while trade unions are calling for more intervention in housing and a new minimum wage agreement.
“In this country, salaries do not match the prices of housing,” UGT Secretary-General Pepe Álvarez said in comments translated by CNBC, urging members to join the protests. He added that it is time for the government to listen to the demands of the people.
The strike came after weeks of social unrest. The death of an 87-year-old woman nearly two weeks after she was evicted from her Madrid home has sparked nationwide outrage. The left-wing government tried to pass a tenant support package, but it was blocked by the opposition.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s coalition government responded by calling a general election on November 29, hoping to shore up support for him and secure another four years in power. But after the high-speed train crash, the second of the year that killed 69 people, the debate shifted to public safety and accusations of government mismanagement.
“Salary. Housing. Price.”
The government has not officially supported the strike, which has the slogan “pay, housing, prices”. But the protests are widely seen as an opportunity for left-wing parties, including Mr. Sánchez’s Socialist Workers’ Party, to put housing at the center of their electoral campaigns.
Oriol Bartomeus, a political scientist at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, told The Associated Press that a high peaceful turnout could help the left shift the campaign back to housing issues.
Mr Sanchez took to social media earlier this week to express support for existing policies such as national health insurance and a 40-hour working week, and warned that a right-wing government would introduce austerity measures and cuts to social services.
Demonstrators confront police in the Vallecas neighborhood during a general strike in Madrid, Spain, November 11, 2026.
Pablo Blazquez Dominguez | Getty Images News | Getty Images
“Eight-hour days, pensions, public health care. None of these things fell from the sky. They are collective achievements,” he told voters on Monday.
The conservative Popular Party and the far-right Vox, which already govern some regions of Spain, have accused trade unions of organizing protests to preserve the current government. “The strike is not a general strike. It is an election strike,” Popular Party spokesman Miguel Terrado said on Tuesday.
Both parties oppose intervention in the housing market.
Opinion polls show the right wing has a majority
Opinion polls suggest a shift to the right, with the People’s Party in the lead and potentially forming a government with Vox.
Such a coalition would be the first far-right faction to join Spain’s central government since Francisco Franco’s 36-year dictatorship ended in 1975.
An El País/Cadena SER poll released on November 9th gave the People’s Party 31.9%, Mr. Sánchez’s socialist Obrero España party 29.9% and Vox 18%. The poll, conducted from November 2-4, predicted that the People’s Party and Vox would have a combined 190 seats, more than the 176 needed for a majority in the 350-member House of Commons.
The high turnout at Wednesday’s protests could be crucial for the government, whose handling of the migrant crisis in Ceuta has drawn widespread criticism. Sanchez’s family has also been plagued by corruption scandals.
Workers wait next to motorbikes as syndicalists barricade themselves at the main entrance of Mercabarna, the largest wholesale market, in Barcelona, Spain, on November 11, 2026.
David Ramos | Getty Images
What is making Europe so angry? Dissatisfaction behind the protests
The Prime Minister’s personal standing has been damaged. According to an elDiario.es poll conducted between November 2 and 5, about 58% of respondents had a “poor” or “very bad” opinion of him, compared to 41% who had a good or very good opinion.
But violence during strikes could backfire on the government. Protests in France in October were seen as an opportunity for the country’s far-right parties to highlight their ability to restore order and security ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
“Two stories will almost certainly emerge on the night of November 11th, one of great success and one of failure. Neither should be read as an exit poll. It would be more useful to look at other areas. It depends on whether things stop, how many people take to the streets, and above all whether housing becomes the center of the campaign,” Maite Aurecoetsea, professor of social and human sciences at the University of Deusto, wrote in a comment translated by Google.
