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Spanish and Portuguese unions discuss joint 'Iberian general strike' on 11 November
Spain's unions have already called a general strike for 11 November over housing and living costs, and Portugal has a stoppage set for the same day. CCOO leader Unai Sordo said it is now up to the Portuguese.
Key points
- Spain's main unions have called a general strike for 11 November.
- A similar stoppage is already scheduled in Portugal for the same day.
- The Spanish strike falls 18 days before snap elections called by Pedro Sánchez.
Trade unions in Spain and Portugal are in contact over a possible “Iberian general strike” on 11 November, the leader of one of Spain’s two biggest union confederations said on Thursday, as anger over housing and the cost of living spreads across the peninsula.
Spain’s main confederations, CCOO (Workers’ Commissions) and UGT (General Union of Workers), have already called a general strike for that date. A similar stoppage is scheduled in Portugal for the same day, and Portuguese unions are weighing whether to formally join forces with their Spanish counterparts.
Unai Sordo, secretary-general of CCOO, said the decision lay with Lisbon. “It is up to the Portuguese to decide whether, in the end, we join forces,” he said in an interview on Los Desayunos, a programme produced by the broadcaster RTVE and the EFE news agency.
He also had a name ready. “If they hold [the strike] in Portugal, we are going to call it the Saramago strike,” he joked, in a nod to the Portuguese Nobel laureate José Saramago.
Both countries have seen months of protests over unaffordable homes and rising rents. Demonstrators have camped in the centres of Madrid, Porto and Lisbon, demanding affordable housing and decent rents.
In Spain the strike carries extra political charge. It falls 18 days before snap elections that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called after parliament rejected his government’s housing measures.