Spain’s general strike puts housing and wages at the heart of the election campaign
Spain is holding its first general strike in fourteen years on November 11: Il Post reports pickets in Madrid and Barcelona and disruption to several services during the campaign for the November 29 legislative election.[2]
UGT’s official platform confirms the November 11, 2026 mobilisation and links wages, housing access and prices: it documents the organisers’ reasons, not an independent count of participation.[1]
**Housing demands meet wage demands.** UGT calls for an increase of at least 7% in the statutory minimum wage in 2027, measures against property speculation and an expansion of public housing.[1]
The union also seeks progress in collective bargaining following the lack of agreement with the CEOE: these are demands, not policies already enacted.[1]
**An unusual political alignment.** In Il Post’s account, the strike is not directed against a single government reform: Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist government supports it, while the Popular Party and Vox oppose the mobilisation.[2]
The outlet reports that Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called it a “strike against the opposition”; this is his political assessment, not a neutral account of participants’ objectives.[2]
Il Post traces the initiative to the tenants’ union, subsequently joined by the major general trade unions.[2]
**Disruption and clashes, without a final tally.** The consulted report describes largely peaceful demonstrations but also clashes, especially in Madrid, with police charges and pepper spray along Gran Vía.[2]
We do not adopt a final total for participation, injuries or arrests: reporting is still developing and the organisers’ page does not certify the day’s overall outcome.
Ahead of the vote, the political question is who can represent the pressure that rents and living costs place on wages: Il Post suggests that the prominence of these issues could benefit Sánchez, but this is not an electoral effect already demonstrated.[2]
## Sources
[1] https://www.ugt.es/index.php/huelga-general-11-noviembre
[2] https://www.ilpost.it/2026/11/11/sciopero-generale-spagna-elezioni