The general strike for housing and wages has begun with pickets at the entrances to Mercabarna and at the Seat plant in Martorell. The pickets are affecting night shifts from 21:00 hours.
According to Infobae, the general strike called in defence of housing and wages started tonight with informational pickets at the entrances to Mercabarna, the central market of Barcelona, and at the Seat facilities in Martorell.
The pickets began to act from 21:00 hours with a specific aim: to prevent the entry of workers for the night shifts. At Mercabarna, they blocked both the passage of personnel and trucks, and numerous tyres were burned.
The general secretaries of CCOO and UGT in Catalonia, Belén López and Camil Ros, joined the picket at Mercabarna. From there, they called on all workers to support the day.
López demanded decent wages and called for the unblocking of stalled agreements. She wanted to send a direct warning to the employers:
“A powerful message to the employers” to sit down and negotiate.
She also addressed political parties to legislate on housing in favour of the social majority. She predicted that the strike would be a success and summarised its objective in one sentence:
“We will stop the country because we want a better country.”
Camil Ros stated that this is the most general strike called by the unions and clarified that it is not against the Government, but against the loss of purchasing power of the working class and housing prices.
For those planning to go to Mercabarna or the Seat plant in Martorell during the night shifts, the pickets may affect access to these sites while the protest lasts.
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