The general strike begins in Catalonia with roadblocks, pickets and chaos in public transport

The general strike in Catalonia started this Wednesday before dawn. Several groups of protesters and pickets have set up barricades in various parts of the city such as Plaza Catalunya and Passeig de Gràcia and have already cut off the Ronda Litoral early in the morning at the Trinity junction at exit 18 and Meridiana Avenue, the B-140 at the access to the CIM Vallès, in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda; the A-2 in Prat de Llobregat and Sant Joan Despí towards Barcelona and the AP-7 in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda, at exit 145 among other roads, to prevent circulation and make entry to Barcelona difficult.

In parallel, different pickets have gathered in front of the doors of schools, universities such as the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and companies such as Seat and Ebro. CCOO and UGT pickets have burned tires at the access roundabout to the Free Trade Zone, to prevent the entry to the workplaces of those who have decided not to participate in the protest. They have also cut off access to and exit of fresh products from Mercabarna, with an action that is also calling for a consumer strike.

Public transport users are also suffering from before 6:00 a.m. the consequences of the strike, with crowds, delays and long waits to get on a bus or train that will allow them to get to work. Precisely, the Government has decreed for this Wednesday minimum services of 25% on public transport during peak hours. This means that Rodalies, the Barcelona Metro, TMB buses, the tram, the FGC and the urban and interurban buses are guaranteed a quarter of the service during the peak periods of users. During the rest of the day, service is not guaranteed. In fact, since early in the morning a picket group has been preventing buses from leaving at the TMB depots in Horta and Sant Andreu, where buses from Barcelona leave.

However, the situation could worsen throughout the morning if what happened on Tuesday happens, when the drivers failed to comply with the minimum services decreed for the strike in Rodalies, which forced the Catalan Executive to activate some 70 alternative buses, a reinforcement that they will not be able to count on this Wednesday, precisely due to the call for a general strike. What will be guaranteed is the normal functioning of hospital emergency services and units considered critical, including ICUs, coronary units, hemodialysis, neonatology and deliveries.

Likewise, the order of the Conselleria d'Empresa i Treball ensures the continuity of radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatments when there is an urgent situation or vital need. Furthermore, surgical activity that cannot be postponed is guaranteed. In the case of primary care, it will work with 25% of the staff, while in Education all non-university teaching centers must have at least one member of the management team. In Infant and Primary there will be one teacher for every six groups and the daycare centers will operate with 33% of the staff.

On the other hand, Barcelona City Council has asked citizens not to throw garbage between 10:00 p.m. this Tuesday and 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The council has explained that the cleaning service will be sized to cover emergencies and issues related to road safety. In the social sphere, the soup kitchens will operate with the service typical of a weekend; The Home Help Service will provide urgent and non-postponable services, and nursing homes, day centers and telecare will operate with the necessary personnel for emergencies.

Two demonstrations in Barcelona

The call for the strike has its origins in the mobilizations promoted by the housing movement, which demanded a 24-hour general strike in the face of rising rent prices and difficulties in accessing decent housing. The case of Maricarmen, the 87-year-old woman who was evicted from her home in Madrid on September 23 and who died on October 7 without being able to return home, became one of the symbols of these demands.

That same October 7, union representatives announced the date of the general strike, which was finally set for November 11. The call gained momentum in a context of mobilizations for the right to housing led by the Llogateres Union, after the parliamentary rejection of the housing decrees presented by the Government. CCOO and UGT registered the call together with other union organizations and social entities, including CGT, CNT, Co.bas, the Intersindical and the Confederation of Tenant Unions. The protest marks the first statewide general strike with the support of major unions since 2012.

The organizers have linked the demands for access to decent housing with the improvement of working conditions and the purchasing power of families. Thus, the strike aims to combine two demands that they consider inseparable: the right to affordable housing and salaries that allow them to meet the cost of living. Among the main demands of the housing movement and the organizations of the Taula Sindical de Catalunya are the lowering of rental prices, the prohibition of speculative purchases, the guarantee of indefinite rental contracts and the suspension of evictions when there is no housing alternative.

In addition to the pickets and roadblocks, in Barcelona, ​​the central demonstration, organized by the unitary campaign Viure Ens Costa la Vida (Living costs us our lives), the Sindicat de Llogateres and the main union and social organizations, will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Jardinets de Gràcia. In addition, there will be demonstrations in other Catalan cities such as Girona, Lleida, Terrassa or Manresa.

However, the mobilization will not be free of discrepancies between the different union currents and the housing movement. The Sindicat d'Habitatge Socialista de Catalunya (SHSC) and Solidaritat Obrera (SO) have called for an alternative demonstration at 5:00 p.m. in Plaza de Jacint Verdaguer. Both organizations have decided to distance themselves from the unitary march of the Llogateres Union, CCOO and UGT.

The differences have also become visible in the days before the strike. On Monday, members of Arran and the Sindicat d' Estudiantes dels Països Catalans (SEPC) accessed the CCOO headquarters in Barcelona to show their displeasure with the role of the majority unions in the call. Both organizations demanded a model of unionism that they consider "more combative" and criticized the participation of CCOO and UGT in the organization of the strike. The student unions have already carried out protest actions this morning at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

The Government respects the general strike

The Government assures that they understand the underlying demands of the general strike and ask that the day be carried out within a framework of coexistence, respecting both the right of those who want to support the strike and that of those who decide to go to work. The Catalan Executive recognizes that there is "a real problem of access to housing" and defends that it is working to respond to this situation through resources and public policies, one of the priorities of Salvador Illa's legislature.

Precisely, the president of the Generalitat led a first meeting to monitor the strike along with several members of his executive. The Government will continue to monitor the day and its councilors do not plan to participate in the strike or attend the demonstrations. However, they will keep their agendas free of public events to focus on the evolution of the mobilizations, the operation of the devices and compliance with minimum services.

police device

The Mossos d'Esquadra will deploy 9,000 troops (50% more than on a usual day) in view of the general strike this Wednesday in Catalonia, a device that the General Information Commissioner (CGI) foresees as having a "maximum" level of risk (a 4 out of 4) due to road closures and disturbances that may occur throughout the day. They also anticipate that there may be altercations in the center of Barcelona.

According to police sources, the total number of troops works from Tuesday night to Wednesday in four shifts, the last when the possible disturbances that may arise after the large mobilization in the afternoon, which in Barcelona can exceed 50,000 people, end. The Mossos will be on the lookout throughout the day for possible pickets that may move from one place to another, and also that these have the mere objective of informing and not preventing entry to the sector that does not support the strike.

One of the main concerns of the Mossos is that, after the morning marches and, especially after the afternoon mobilizations, there will be "combative groups" that take advantage of the large volume of people to generate disturbances and altercations against the police lines. They are already contemplating the possibility of this type of groups burning containers, building barricades and throwing objects at public order agents of the Catalan police.