{"id":15497,"date":"2026-11-11T16:49:28","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T16:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=15497"},"modified":"2026-11-11T16:49:28","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T16:49:28","slug":"its-just-too-expensive-housing-and-wages-at-the-heart-of-spains-strike-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=15497","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s just too expensive\u2019: Housing and wages at the heart of Spain\u2019s strike | News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK<\/span><\/p>\n

Mass walkout across several cities marks first general strike in 14 years.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 11 Nov 2026<\/span>11 Nov 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Madrid, Spain \u2013 <\/strong> In central Madrid, business owners seemed to have taken note of the riots that erupted in Paris last month.<\/a><\/p>\n

Amid a nationwide strike<\/a>, many have boarded up their shop windows on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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Police are lined up\u00a0in front of some major department stores. At others, police vans protect the entrances.<\/p>\n

This is the first national general strike in Spain in 14 years, and it is all about the lack of affordable housing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The protesters who have blocked the city\u2019s central Gran Via are angry and frustrated.<\/p>\n

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People take part in a demonstration called by trade unions in San Sebastian, northern Spain [Juan Herrero\/EPA]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The catalyst for the strike was the eviction, in September, of 87-year-old Maria del Carmen Abascal<\/a>, known as Maricarmen, from her home of seventy years because she could not afford a fivefold\u00a0increase in her monthly rent of 500 euros ($555).<\/p>\n

It exposed a crisis in the lack of affordable housing, particularly in the country\u2019s major cities.<\/p>\n

\u201cHousing is a fundamental problem\u201d, Antonio, a teacher, tells us. \u201cIt consumes the majority of a working person\u2019s wages. Wages \u2013 or rather, the need for wage increases \u2013 are another fundamental issue. We are fighting for a combination of things: lower housing costs and higher wages.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Police face off with protesters during a nationwide general strike over the country\u2019s housing crisis in Barcelona on November 11, 2026 [AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The country\u2019s youth council says that a young person would need to spend 98.7 percent of their monthly salary to rent a place on their own.<\/p>\n

Arturo, who is in his mid-30s, says he cannot afford a place of his own. \u201cIt\u2019s just too expensive, so I\u2019m living with my parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you factor in the cost of food and basic living expenses, you\u2019re left with almost nothing \u2013 maybe 100 euros [$110]. And that\u2019s just not \u2026 sustainable in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Madrid\u2019s teachers have been on strike since the start of term.<\/p>\n

Antonio teaches in one of the city\u2019s schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply concerned about the social rights of my students, their families, and my neighbours,\u201d he says. \u201cI believe that all citizens need to have a social consciousness: if things aren\u2019t going well for everyone, then they can\u2019t go well for any of us. It is absolutely essential that we all stand up and fight for everyone\u2019s rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A man poses in front of the entrance to Casa Batllo, which is closed during a 24-hour nationwide general strike held to demand wages that allow access to what demonstrators say is decent housing, in Barcelona, Spain, on November 11, 2026 [Bruna Casas\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Bank of Spain says 750,000 new homes are needed to meet current demand, and that could rise to a million. In 2025, 92,000 homes were built.<\/p>\n

The housing crisis could end up costing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez his job.<\/p>\n

The snap general election he called will take place on November 29, after his minority government failed to get legislation through parliament that would have given some protections to tenants.<\/p>\n

Sanchez\u2019s Socialist Party is trailing in the polls behind the combined support for right-wing and far-right parties.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK Mass walkout across several cities marks first general strike in 14 years. Published On 11 Nov 202611 Nov 2026 Madrid, Spain \u2013 In central Madrid, business owners seemed to have taken note of the riots that erupted in Paris last month. Amid a nationwide strike, many have boarded up their shop windows on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t