- Published
Transport and other public services across Spain have faced serious disruption in the first general strike for 14 years called by the main unions over housing and the high cost of living.
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Transport → publish → living
Demonstrations were also planned later on Wednesday, with the biggest protests expected in Madrid and Barcelona.
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protests → plan → Madrid
Spaniards are due to vote in parliamentary elections on 29 November.
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Spaniards → vote → November
The head of the big UGT labour union, Pepe Álvarez, said the strike was a success with "massive" participation, while Unai Sordo of the CC OO union said turnout was "very significant."
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turnout → say → union
However, the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations said participation was "low and uneven", depending on the areas and sectors involved.
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participation → say → areas
Some of the biggest disruption on Wednesday was seen in the main industrial hubs of Madrid and the north-eastern region of Catalonia where traffic was halted on several main roads.
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traffic → see → roads
The interior ministry said dozens of people were arrested for a variety of incidents and Spanish reports said estate agencies had seen attacks on their offices.
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agencies → say → offices
The strike was triggered by widespread protests over affordable housing and rising living costs, after the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from a flat in Madrid where she had lived for seven decades.
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she → trigger → decades
She died in hospital weeks later.
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She → die → hospital
Rental prices in the capital have soared in recent years.
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prices → soar → years
The monthly cost of a 50m sq apartment in Madrid was an average of €1,170 in October, according to property portal Idealista, while Spain's average gross monthly salary is about €2,460 (£2,056).
uncertain
salary → accord → Idealista
That amounts to nearly half the average gross salary, well above the 30% level of affordability often recommended by housing experts and public institutions.
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That → amount → experts
Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called snap elections last month after parliament failed to approve his plan for housing reform.
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parliament → call → reform
Not since 2012, under the conservative government of Mariano Rajoy, has Spain held general strikes.
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Spain → hold → strikes
Sánchez and his ministers have even encouraged workers to down tools and demand affordable housing.
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Sánchez → encourage → housing
These were collective conquests," he wrote on social media, praising those who took part in previous strikes.
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who → write → strikes
The conservative People's Party (PP), by contrast, has accused the government of attempting to weaponise the strike for electoral gain.
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Party → accuse → gain
PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called the general strike "nonsense", calling the unions "mafia" and "trash".
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Feijóo → call → unions
Feijoo's party is leading the polls and party spokesman Miguel Tellado said the government was exploiting the strike to warn voters against allowing a right-wing government to be formed, which looks the most likely outcome of the 29 November election.
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which → lead → election
Sánchez told Spanish TV this week: "What is nonsense is to question the rights of workers to strike."
Among those taking part in the general strike was Gonzalo Álvarez, 27, who was visiting different picket lines in central Madrid.
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who → tell → Madrid
Although he works in sales, he has been volunteering for a housing union that tries to protect tenants and makes them aware of their rights.
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them → work → rights
The eviction of Maricarmen Abascal at the end of September "was the little fire" that sparked this protest, he told the BBC.
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he → spark → BBC
Álvarez knew the 87-year-old, who had faced a tripling of her rent under new landlords, and says he was deeply upset by her treatment.
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he → know → treatment
He rents a small, one-bedroom flat with his girlfriend, a dental hygienist, in the city's southern Arganzuela disrict.
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He → rent → disrict
The couple pay €1,000 between them, which means each spends about half of their salary on housing, even before other bills.
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each → pay → bills
He sees no way of he'll get on the property ladder.
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he → see → ladder
"You have to collect an insane amount of money to be able to buy a house.
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You → have → house
He says with current rent and purchase prices buying somewhere is "completely impossible."
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buying → say → prices
However, the vice-president of the CEOE, Spanish biggest business association, Miguel Garrido, criticised the strike, complaining that businesses had little to do with the price of housing.
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businesses → criticise → housing
"This is not a strike for labour-related reasons, but rather for political ones, and it is closely linked to the early calling of elections," he said.
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he → relate → elections
Demonstrations were planned for some of Spain's biggest cities later in the day and the scale of support will be widely viewed as an indicator of public discontent ahead of the election.
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scale → plan → election
Power usage in Spain fell by 7.5% during the early hours of Wednesday, according to data from operator Red Eléctrica.
uncertain
usage → fall → Eléctrica
The Aporia
