A part of the real estate sector faces the general strike day of this 11N with "uncertainty." The housing crisis is in the background of the strike called by the majority unions UGT and CCOO but it is the Tenants' Union that is setting the pace of the call and the protests and there is some concern that the attacks that yesterday placed Safe Rental at the center of their actions will be repeated.
Almost thirty of its offices throughout the country have been subject to attacks in the last 48 hours and the company fears that the situation will worsen this Wednesday, coinciding with the day of the strike.
Since last Monday, several of the company's branches have been vandalized with graffiti and posters inviting people to participate in the strike. The real estate company attributes the attacks to the Tenants Union and its entourage because its signature appears on the posters used in the actions and because on numerous occasions the union organization has pointed out the company as one of the exponents of the residential model that they consider to be behind the current accessibility crisis in the country.
Up to 27 Insurance Rental centers of the 61 it has in Spain have been attacked. Most of the incidents were concentrated in Madrid, but cases were also recorded in La Coruña, Barcelona, Vitoria, Bilbao and Oviedo. In some centers the shop windows were completely hidden with posters of the general strike, in others they have been filled with graffiti, in others both elements coincide and in some the locks and doors have been sealed with silicone to prevent opening. Many workers came across the image when they went to work yesterday and others witnessed the events directly during the day on Tuesday.
However, the act that has aroused the most alarm among its employees took place late yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, when a picket of about 40 people entered the company's headquarters on Avenida de América, 18 in Madrid. With employees still inside the building, a group including the Union spokesperson, Alicia del Río, approached the interior, painted the walls and papered the floor with leaflets from the general strike. "Today we have come to the Seguro Rental offices, a few hours before the general strike for housing, to remind them that they are one of the main culprits of the situation we are experiencing in our country because they have served to radicalize the housing market," Del Río shouted, megaphone in hand, in the midst of an atmosphere of chants and boos against the Government and the market. The police ended up attending the scene and removing the picket participants to the street.
The Tenants Union itself has published the video of the action on its social networks. However, they do not clarify whether they are also behind the rest of the altercations suffered by the company's offices. Asked about the accusations and their possible responsibility in the attacks, the Union responded to EL MUNDO that "the strike overwhelmed all the organizations a long time ago and the neighborhoods are self-organizing." And they add: "From the Union we did not organize anything yesterday [Monday] night. What people do with the anger accumulated over years of abuses by Rental Insurance is something else. But the Union has not organized this."
Rental Insurance condemns the events and holds the organization responsible, alleging that "they have publicly pointed out to us on repeated occasions. They blame us for the situation in the rental market and have stated that they want our company to close." There are several occasions on which, indeed, the Tenants' Union has denounced the conditions and business model of the company, but the firm considers that "what has happened in the last few hours goes one step further."
