Jordi Turull, secretary-general of the party Junts, said on Wednesday in Barcelona that his party respected the right to strike, but saw no “clear target” for the mobilisation called for 11 November. He said they understood the public’s discontent, but that the demands were, in his view, too vague about whom they were aimed at. Turull spoke in the Catalan capital on Wednesday morning, according to Europa Press.
The debate was prompted by a strike registered for Wednesday in Catalonia , which is directed against high living costs and the strained housing market. The mobilisation is being led mainly by groups active in Catalonia. The Intersindical had publicly called for the date in advance. The tenants’ union Sindicat de Llogateres had previously proposed an action day on 11 November, highlighting the social dimension of the housing issue. RTVE Catalunya reported on 20 October that the strike notice had been formally registered in Catalonia, 3cat on the housing focus of the call.
Turull’s comments address the political positioning of the protests. While expressing sympathy for social concerns, he criticised the lack of precision about whom the demands were aimed at and who should be held responsible for addressing them. The issue is politically sensitive for Junts: the party competes with left-wing forces on social issues, while also wanting to avoid ignoring discontent over living costs and rents.
On Wednesday, there was initially no reliable information on the strike’s specific effects on transport, public services or education. By the editorial deadline, organisers and authorities had published no reliable figures on participation or disruption. Any claims about its reach and effects therefore remain provisional.
The debate nonetheless highlights that social conflicts over rents and prices continue to preoccupy Catalonia. Groups such as the Sindicat de Llogateres focus particularly on housing policy and local regulation. Trade union supporters link this to questions of wages and collective agreements. Political parties have responded in different tones: Junts is seeking to combine understanding of the concerns with criticism of a form of protest that Turull considers too diffuse. Whether the mobilisation will put new pressure behind the demands will only become clear from actual participation and the responses of the relevant public authorities and landlords’ associations.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).