Spain’s general strike on Wednesday: What will run, what may close and how to prepare

Commuters, travellers and families across Spain face thinned-out trains, reduced metro services and postponed hospital appointments on Wednesday November 11, as workers stage the country’s first general strike in 14 years. Minimum service levels have now been set for transport, schools and healthcare, and they vary a great deal depending on where you live.

Who’s striking on Wednesday and why
The 24-hour strike runs from midnight to midnight, although in workplaces that run shifts it starts with the first shift, even if that begins on Tuesday night.

It’s been called by Spain’s two biggest unions, CCOO and UGT, with backing from smaller unions including CGT, Galicia’s CIG and the Basque unions ELA and LAB, as well as the tenants’ unions that first proposed the date. It also lands 18 days before the general election on Sunday November 29. Under the slogan ‘Wages, housing and prices’, the unions want pay rises of 4 to 7 per cent, limits on rents and a permanent stock of public protected housing.