Unai Sordo, general secretary of the Comisiones Obreras, has called for current housing protests to be broadened to include demands for the protection of real wages. In an interview on Radio Euskadi In early October 2026, he pointed to the link between the housing crisis, inflation and higher fuel and raw material costs, which are “eating into people’s wages” and increasing social pressure. Sordo did not rule out the possibility of a general strike, but urged a measured response that takes regional differences into account.
The immediate trigger for the latest wave of demonstrations was the eviction of Maricarmen, an 87-year-old tenant in the Madrid district of Retiro, which sparked outrage across the country. The political situation has become more acute since the Congreso de los Diputados failed on 2 October 2026 to confirm two Government issued by the housing decrees (“Real Decrees”). Following their rejection by a parliamentary majority, the measures ceased to be in force; their repeal was published in the official gazette BOE. According to Europa Press, Sordo stressed that the mobilisation should have “broad” support and address not only access to affordable housing but also wage trends.
Sordo argued that social conditions vary from region to region: major cities such as Madrid, tourist areas and the rural España vaciada are affected in different ways, so forms of protest and industrial action need to vary. While rents and displacement dominate in metropolitan areas, vacant properties and low incomes create different problems in peripheral areas. Sordo says this makes a coordinated but differentiated strategy necessary.
The rejection of the housing decrees in the Congreso de los Diputados has prompted debate about the government’s next steps and the scope for action by the regions. Government representatives point to the urgent need for swift measures to tackle rising rents and provide social protection, while opposition parties criticise the scope and design of the proposals. Forecasts about possible new proposals or compromises remain uncertain; the only confirmed fact is that the previous regulation is no longer in force.
Sordo’s proposal responds to this escalation by explicitly linking housing and income in Spain. His appeal is aimed at building broad public support to put pressure on decision-makers both for affordable housing and to preserve purchasing power. In his words, whether this leads to labour-related action will depend on price trends, the state of collective bargaining and the political response.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).