'The strike starts today': Unions ramp up preparations for November 11 

Catalonia's main rally for the 24-hour strike over housing costs and wages on November 11 will take place at Barcelona's Jardinets de Gràcia at 5.30pm, organisers announced on Monday.

The Ens Costa la Vida platform, the Tenants' Union (Sindicat de Llogateres) and the Catalan Trade Union Roundtable made the announcement at the University of Barcelona's historic building, which will become the strike's organising headquarters from Monday afternoon. 

The organisers also urged people across Catalonia to establish local strike committees.

"The strike doesn't start on November 11; it starts today, and it has already started," said Enric Aragonès, spokesperson for the Tenants' Union.

The housing movement and alternative trade unions described the action as a "united strike where nobody is left out."

Rubén Páez, spokesperson for Ens Costa la Vida, urged people to fill the streets to make it "a historic day."

Demands on housing and wages

The strike calls for lower rents in line with workers' wages, permanent rental contracts and a halt to evictions where no alternative accommodation is available.

Organisers also want to ban property purchases for speculative purposes and bring vacant homes and properties used for tourist accommodation back into residential use.

Their labour demands include a 35-hour working week, a ban on structural overtime, a minimum wage and pensions of €1,500, and wages linked to inflation.

They also want housing unions formally recognised as "interlocutors" and rent strikes protected as a right equivalent to industrial action.

"We're fed up with not making it to the end of the month, with spending more than half our wages on housing, and that's why we're calling on people to support the strike," said Montse Sánchez, secretary-general of the CGT union and spokesperson for the Catalan Trade Union Roundtable.

The CGT has formally registered the 24-hour strike notice across Spain and in Catalonia, arguing that the action is legally protected and grounded in labour demands. It cited precedents including the feminist strikes held on March 8.

"This strike should not face any legal challenge. We’re not worried. We have every right to strike," Sánchez said.

University of Barcelona to become 'Strike House'

The Tenants' Union and student organisations plan to occupy the University of Barcelona's historic building from Monday afternoon, turning it into what they call the "Strike House." The venue will host workers' strike committees, assemblies and logistical preparations, alongside talks, activities and artistic performances.

"Participation in the Strike House is open to anyone who wants to contribute, find out about their rights or learn about everything that is at stake," the organisers said.

Around 60 strike committees have been established across Catalonia since the stoppage was announced, with about 10 already having met.

Aragonès urged people to join the organising effort, saying that if those who had taken part in recent demonstrations became involved in the committees, "I assure you that the country will grind to a halt on November 11."

Asked whether the strike could follow the pattern of recent protests in France, Aragonès said it would "exceed expectations."

The strike follows protests over the eviction of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old woman in Madrid, and demonstrations after Spain's Congress of Deputies rejected housing decrees proposed by the government.

The government has since called a general election for November 29.

In support of the organisers' call for action, Sánchez also pointed to demonstrations across Europe. "We are in a situation where people are protesting in the streets in Belgium, France, Italy and Albania, and we're next," she said.

She described the stoppage as "an opportunity to demand concrete measures," including linking wages to the actual rate of inflation.