Spain Faces Nationwide Strike Over Housing Costs, Wage Demands

(MENAFN) Clashes between police and protesters were reported across Spain on Wednesday as workers staged the country's first general strike in 14 years, calling for more affordable housing and better wages ahead of a national election.

The 24-hour labor action affected transportation services and industrial activity, while at least 23 people had been arrested by late morning, according to reports from the public broadcaster.

At Mercamadrid, Madrid's main wholesale food distribution center, the Workers' Commissions union reported that 13 protesters needed medical treatment following a police intervention against a picket line.

Union leader Unai Sordo criticized officers for using pepper spray, maintaining that demonstrators had been conducting a peaceful protest.

In Catalonia, striking workers blocked major roads, industrial zones and access points to Barcelona's Sants railway station. Labor organizations also reported interruptions to production at several major automobile manufacturing facilities.

The nationwide strike was organized by Spain's leading labor unions, the UGT and Workers' Commissions, together with smaller workers' groups, following mounting pressure from housing rights campaigners.

The protest movement gained wider attention after Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman who was evicted from her home and later died in hospital, became a focal point for demonstrations against rising housing costs.

Beyond housing affordability, the organizers are seeking higher salaries and improved public services.

"No salary can keep up with housing prices in our country," UGT leader Pepe Alvarez said before the walkout.

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