madrid, spainReuters —
The general strike is the first since workers destroyed tools in protest against austerity measures in 2012 during the euro zone debt crisis.このストライキには、100万人以上の労働者を代表するスペインの2大労働組合であるUGTとCCOOのほか、家賃の高騰や立ち退きに怒るテナント団体も支持している。
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wants to capitalize on voter anger over housing issues in the Nov. 29 election and shift the political conversation away from corruption scandals involving close aides and last month’s deadly train disaster. So far, his Socialist Party remains trailing in opinion polls.
Protesters cheered on Gran Vía, one of Madrid’s main shopping streets, as stores such as Primark, H&M and Pull & Bear shuttered their doors under tight security by riot police.
In Barcelona, many shops were closed and boarded up in anticipation of riots.
Spain’s housing shortage is around 750,000 units, and is expected to grow to more than 1 million units by 2028, according to the central bank.
With fewer people able to buy homes, rents are skyrocketing, putting pressure on the market. According to the Spanish Youth Council, the average rental price of 1,176 euros (about $1,315) corresponds to about 98.7% of the average monthly income of young people in Spain.
病院のIT部門で働き、ストライキを支援するマドリード在住のヘスス・ゴンザレスさんは、「私は36歳だが、まだ自力で引っ越しはできない」と語った。 “Rents keep going up, house prices keep going up. That’s just not possible.”
Angela de Miguel, vice president of Spain’s main business lobby CEOE, said the strike was counterproductive as small and medium-sized businesses were also affected by the housing crisis, as the lack of housing made hiring more difficult.
テナント組合は、ストライキへの参加者が今日の終わりまでに５００万人に達すると依然として予想していると述べた。 According to the National Statistical Institute, there are approximately 23 million workers in Spain.
However, Miguel Cardoso, chief economist at BBVA Research, said the impact of the strike is likely to be less pronounced than in previous years, as more people are able to work remotely and services become a larger part of Spain’s economy. He estimated that the strike could reduce Spain’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.1-0.2%.
Spain’s rapidly growing hospitality and financial industries have fewer unions than the public and industrial sectors.
These protests, combined with the parliamentary rejection of last month’s decree aimed at curbing evictions and curbing rent pressures, prompted Sanchez to call a snap election.
