CCOO and UGT agree to call a general strike over housing and wages

A call that links wages and housing

CCOO and UGT agreed to call a 24-hour general strike to demand that wages make it possible to access decent housing. Europa Press’s subsequent coverage placed the strike on November 11: that was the date agreed by the two union confederations, although they still had to finalize the agreement with the Tenants’ Union and the other organizations interested in joining.

The initial announcement was made on October 5, after Congress rejected two housing decrees and social, neighborhood and tenants’ movements organized demonstrations. In that first announcement, the unions had not yet set the date of the strike and said the call needed to be coordinated with other organizations. The November 11 date therefore reflects progress in subsequent talks, not that an agreement on participation had already been finalized.

The initiative argues that housing costs and wage trends are connected. CCOO General Secretary Unai Sordo argued that rising housing costs and stagnant wages justified a social response. For his part, UGT General Secretary Pepe Álvarez maintained that wage increases agreed in collective bargaining can be offset by housing costs.

The unions’ demands

The call is part of both unions’ proposals for collective bargaining and their ten-point plan for the right to housing. The measures included in the plan include a social and political pact, a permanent public stock of subsidized housing, limits on rental prices and the effective application of the Right to Housing Act throughout all territories.

As part of the Sixth Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining, the unions had also proposed wage review clauses, increases of between 4% and 7%, and measures to facilitate access to housing. The unions are calling on workers to take part both in their workplaces and in street demonstrations, and are directing their demands to the public authorities with housing powers and to employers’ organizations.

The Tenants’ Union supported the announcement. Its spokesperson, Alicia del Río, welcomed the unions’ decision to join a movement that, she said, had been mobilizing for ten days, and called for more unions and social organizations to join. The participation of those groups and the finalization of the organizational schedule were still pending in the information available.

The controversy over legality

The call also prompted objections over whether a general strike can be based on demands related to housing. CEOE President Antonio Garamendi questioned whether the strike was based on labor-related grounds and argued that it could be illegal. Some organizations, including CSIF, announced that they would not join the protest and expressed reservations about its political nature.

Álvarez rejected those criticisms and described the strike as “absolutely constitutional.” He also argued that the housing problem affects workers’ living conditions and that public authorities should be challenged on the issue, including regional governments and town and city councils, as well as the central government.

These statements represent opposing positions, not a legal ruling. The information available does not establish that a judicial or administrative body has declared the call legal or illegal. The debate centers precisely on the relationship between the housing-related grounds and the professional interests that the unions link to wages and collective bargaining.