Spain’s two largest unions announce housing strike — Al Jazeera English

Spain’s two largest trade unions, UGT and CCOO, have announced plans to hold a nationwide strike on November 11 over the housing crisis. The planned date still needs to be approved by other unions during a meeting later on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reports.

Strike ahead of snap election

The action is to take place several weeks before the snap election scheduled for November 29. Rising rents and evictions have become some of the main issues of the election campaign.

If the strike date is backed by other unions, it will be the first general strike in 14 years jointly supported by UGT and CCOO. Valeria Racu, a representative of the Madrid Tenants’ Union, said housing costs are rising three, four or five times faster than the minimum wage is increasing.

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Housing shortage and protests

According to the Bank of Spain, the country’s housing shortage stands at approximately 750,000 units and could exceed one million by 2028. The average rent of 1,176 euros per month equals about 98.7% of the average monthly income of a young person in Spain, according to data from the Youth Council of Spain.

The strike announcement was preceded by weeks of demonstrations that began after the eviction in Madrid of 87-year-old Maria del Carmen Abascal, known as Maricarmen. An international investment fund bought the building where she lived and raised her rent by more than 200%, to about $1,880 a month. After the eviction, the Madrid Tenants’ Union organized protests and tent camps at Puerta del Sol square, and the actions later spread to dozens of cities.

Last week, Spain’s government failed to adopt emergency measures to address the housing crisis. After that, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap election for November 29.