The unions trust the success of an "atypical" strike and with timid follow-up to this afternoon's demonstration despite the warning about the storm

Spain is experiencing the promised day of general strike, the first that the country has faced in 14 years and which has been promoted by CCOO, UGT, the Tenants' Unions and other organizations under the motto Salaries, housing, prices. "This is a bosses' picket!" or "Long live the struggle of the working class!" These are some of the phrases that the protesters shouted this morning at the doors of the garages of the Municipal Transport Company (EMT) in Fuencarral (Madrid) as the minimum service buses passed, between flags and flashlights in the darkness. But they have not been the only ones. "A general strike was needed! Here are the anti-fascists!" is heard on Madrid's Gran Vía in the middle of the day.

And it is facing a key hour because in less than an hour the large unity demonstrations will begin throughout the country. The forecast of a collapse in mobility is such that the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, has publicly asked citizens to limit travel this afternoon before the departure of the central march from Atocha. A call for caution that extends to large capitals such as Barcelona, ​​Valencia or Bilbao, where thousands of people are beginning to gather on the main avenues. The unions have called to take to the streets and demand immediate responses to the housing crisis and the loss of purchasing power, despite the storm that has already forced the postponement of the housing demonstration in Cádiz.

As the day of a "quite atypical" strike passes - as the general secretary of the UGT, Pepe Álvarez, has described - the assessments on the incidence of the strike draw an unequal balance depending on the territories and sectors. On the one hand, the Confederation of Tenants' Unions has called the strike a "success" with some four million people supporting the strike. "In the general strike of 2012, voluntary monitoring was 25%; 3.6 million strikers. With this morning's data, today there will be far more than five million people," the union anticipated in a statement. The housing movement estimates a following of 75% in the Mediterranean and the Cantabrian coast, and between 41% and 45% in Castiles and Extremadura.

Participation has also been measured with the fall in electricity demand, which according to data from Red Eléctrica de España (REE), reached 34,225 megawatts (MW) at 2:00 p.m. this Wednesday, compared to 34,313 MW yesterday at the same time, which represents a drop of just 0.25%; but it fell 7.54% at 10:00 a.m. and in the first hours it pointed to a decrease of 9%. The general secretary of CCOO, Unai Sordo, has described the strike as a "success that exceeds the expectations of the union organizations" and has warned that "from today no Government, no matter who governs, will be able to look the other way in the face of the enormous housing problem." Sordo has highlighted the intergenerational nature of the march and has stated that "the pension system in Spain is not going to hit, they are going to hit the streets of Spain."

The first data from CCOO and UGT, early in the morning, already reflected a broad strike in strategic sectors. In the automotive sector, tracking reaches 90%; in the meat industry unemployment reaches 85%; in garbage collection at 82% and in the energy sector at 75%. In socio-health services, where the minimum services are met, monitoring is 38%, and in the postal sector, 35%. In the Valencian Community, the average monitoring is 60%, and, in Madrid, the monitoring of strikes has been estimated between 65% and 80%, except in Public Services, where they have been above 55% due to the "abusive" minimum services set by the Administration.

On the other hand, the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) has updated that the reduction in demand has been around 5%, "significantly below the figure for previous strikes." "The trend, therefore, points to a normalization of demand compared to that of a normal working day," he noted in a statement. With the information available at noon, the monitoring of the strike is "uneven between sectors and territories." In any case, the employers assure that business activity is developing normally in the majority of sectors and territories, with a greater incidence of strikes in more unionized areas and sectors.

In his first statement, he had already highlighted the "low follow-up of the strike." A perspective confirmed by data from the Madrid Business Confederation-CEOE (CEIM), which indicates that not even 10% of workers in private companies "have supported the political strike" in the capital. They have criticized that under the alibi of rising housing prices, "the unions and the Government have tried to put the focus on companies, which also suffer from rising prices, the difficulties in finding affordable premises and the complications in dealing with financing."

The first participation data indicated that Catalonia registers a "low follow-up" of 8.9% this morning, as assessed by Pimec, the Catalan SME employer association, although 29% of companies are affected. "Almost half" of the affected companies do not have any people on strike and 31.8% have registered mobility difficulties among their workers, it reports in a statement. In the capital, the president of ATA, Lorenzo Amor, has reported that 90% of the self-employed are carrying out their activity normally, in an interview on RNE. For example, the Spanish Confederation of Madrid Teaching Centers, CECE Madrid, has assured that the general strike has had "very limited follow-up" in the centers consulted, "standing at 1.5% of the workers in its associated centers."

There are two main reasons behind the strikes: the rental crisis - originated after the outbreak due to the eviction of Maricarmen Abascal in Madrid - and the rise in the cost of living. Currently, salaries agreed by agreement rise by 3%, while inflation reaches 4.9%, making it difficult for families across the country to make ends meet. The rent is close to 50% of the net salary and buying requires up to 15 years of full salary, according to the Association of Financial Users (Asufin). Meanwhile, of the almost 10 million homes projected in urban plans, 6.9 million are in limbo pending execution; which increases the deficit of the residential stock and puts upward pressure on prices and complicates the economy of the Spanish people.

In the construction sector, the National Construction Confederation (CNC) has reported that the strike has had practically no follow-up in the sector. According to data collected by the employers' association, of the 1.5 million people affiliated with Social Security, less than 1,000 have supported the strike, which puts the follow-up at 0.01%. For this reason, no incidents have been observed, except for some specific ones indirectly related to transportation, without having had a real impact on the works.

The mobilization also comes at a time of political tension, just 18 days before the general elections on November 29. While the Government supports the protests as a just social demand, the employers and the opposition accuse the unions of organizing an "electoralist" strike. The organizers hope to measure the real support for the strike in the large demonstrations called for this afternoon.

Complaints about police action

Sordo has raised tension after denouncing as an "absolute scandal" the use of pepper spray against the information pickets during the night and this morning. "It is unprecedented and unprecedented in the history of Spain; we are going to go to court and demand criminal responsibility," Sordo announced after criticizing the actions of the security forces in various parts of the capital. This tension reported by the power plants had its hardest moments during the early hours of the morning and early morning hours. "We are trying to raise awareness among our colleagues. We believe that the police are acting excessively, charging and using pepper spray," denounced Lucho Palazzo, general secretary of FSC-CCOO at street level in Fuencarral.

Palazzo also recalled that to regulate prices and gain rights "you have to occupy public spaces and go out into the streets." Likewise, in a press conference the Secretary of Organization of CCOO, Agustín Martín, referred to these episodes and highlighted that "it is curious the dynamics that are being used with pepper spray", and he related it to the PP deputy Ana Vázquez taking one to Congress just before the end of the legislature. The spokesperson for the Tenants' Union, Alicia del Río, has also warned that the general strike is directed against governments of all colors" and has denounced that it is precisely these that, in the face of the strike and the action of the pickets, have sent "police violence" as a "response."

While one of the most critical points was in Mercamadrid, where a concentration of nearly a thousand protesters has led to police charges, the use of pepper spray, more than 13 people treated for bruises and eye irritation, and the arrest of a worker. Similar charges and incidents have occurred in the Madrid garages of Carabanchel, in the Malagueña Transport Company and in Mercamálaga, where several spokespersons and political leaders have reported attacks.

The pickets have stopped the entry and exit of trucks in the central markets of Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Córdoba, Málaga and Zaragoza. As reported by the Ministry of the Interior, the National Police and the Civil Guard have registered 653 incidents related to the strike day from 10:00 p.m. this Tuesday until 2:00 p.m. this Wednesday. The day has left more than 40 detainees throughout Spain. These data do not include arrests in Catalonia or the Basque Country, which their regional police have reported. The Mossos d'Esquadra have reported one arrested in Barcelona for burning containers the night before the strike, while the Ertzaintza has provided a balance of 13 detainees, as well as three under investigation and more than 150 identified.

Cuts in transportation and activity

This morning the pickets cut off the access to the Barcelona Sants station and the roads cut were reduced to a dozen around 1:00 p.m., the majority in the Girona district, while in Tarragona all the roads affected by demonstrations have been reopened. In the capital, the Police intervened this morning to clear blocks on the M-30, the A-6 and the A-42 in the middle of rush hour. With data from 10 a.m., the Madrid Metro service operates at 100%, but travelers who use it drop by 42% at the start of the 24-hour general strike day, according to the metropolitan company. Since the start of the service and until 10 a.m., a total of 388,502 travelers had used the Madrid underground, 42% less than in the same period on the previous Wednesday. The trains were running with an average interval of between 5 and 6 minutes.

Regarding the high speed that has been in the eye of the hurricane since the Urda accident, the strike causes the suppression of 24% of AVE and Long Distance traffic and 10.2% of Cercanías and Media Distancia circulations, as reported by Renfe. The workers of Renfe Engineering and Maintenance, with 17.18%, are the ones who are supporting the strike the most. The general participation amounts to 6.83% in the accumulated night and morning shifts.

Airlines have also been affected and have already canceled 289 operations at Spanish airports until 2:00 p.m., which represents 6.38% of those scheduled. The airlines operating at the Adolfo Suárez Madrid Barajas Airport have canceled nine flights of the 1,097 scheduled during the morning of the 24-hour strike day throughout the country. However, the greatest impact of the strike is being seen in Andalusia, with the cancellation of 30 flights.