Murcia unions call 24-hour strike over pay and housing

Trade unions and housing groups in the Murcia region have called a 24-hour general strike for Wednesday 11 November. The action will focus on pay and the cost of housing.

CCOO, UGT and Intersindical are among the groups backing the walkout. They are joined by the Murcia Housing Union, PAH, HOAC and No+Precariedad.

The strike will be the first joint general stoppage involving CCOO and UGT since 2012. Their last shared 24-hour strike was on 14 November that year. It opposed spending cuts and the labour law brought in under Mariano Rajoy's government.

Housing pressure drives the call

CCOO's regional leader Teresa Fuentes said the campaign grew after the eviction of Mari Carmen on 23 September. She said tenant groups then held protests in more than 50 cities.

Average rent in Murcia now tops €800 a month. Jorge Molina, a spokesman for the Murcia Housing Union, said home prices had more than doubled in ten years. He said wages had risen by about 30% in that time. At the start of the year, the region saw two or three evictions each day, he added.

UGT regional leader Paqui Sánchez called the strike broad and open to many groups. She said the regional government had returned €23 million in EU funds meant for protected homes. UGT also says rental aid has no funding and a housing bill has not moved forward.

The call comes during the election campaign. Fuentes said the strike seeks political answers but is not tied to any party.

Pay and job concerns

Pay is the other main demand. CCOO wants rises of 4% to 7% in collective talks, while UGT is seeking 7%. UGT says its legal team is ready to help staff who join the strike.

CCOO cited labour force data to support its case. It said the number of people in work in Murcia rose from 641,500 in the second quarter of 2018 to 742,100 in the same period of 2026. The jobless total fell from 116,000 to 90,200.

A regional study also found that sick leave rose by 9.2% in the third quarter of 2025. The rise across Spain was 6.6%. The study linked part of the change to more leave for mental health needs.

The action also has backing outside Murcia. CCOO in Seville province has urged workers there to join. It says 65,000 jobless people in the province receive no benefit.

Source: elDiario.es; 20minutos; Andalucía Información.