Spain will hold a general strike over the housing crisis on November 11, it has been confirmed.

The nationwide walkout will take place less than three weeks before voters go to the polls in the snap general election.

It will be the first general strike supported by the two largest unions, UGT and CCOO, during Pedro Sanchez’s time as prime minister.

Their last took place in 2012 in protest against austerity measures introduced by Mariano Rajoy’s Partido Popular government.

The November walkout will come just 18 days before Spain holds a snap general election on November 29.

Sanchez called the vote after Congress rejected his two emergency housing decrees.

The proposals included extended protections for vulnerable tenants, longer rental contracts and restrictions targeting investment funds and certain forms of temporary accommodation.

‘Insatiable property greed’

UGT and CCOO said the strike represented a response to what they described as the ‘insatiable greed’ driving Spain’s property market.

‘The November 11 general strike is the response to insatiable property greed that speculates with one of the fundamental rights of citizenship, making access to decent housing practically impossible for the majority,’ the unions said in a joint statement.

‘We call on working people to join this campaign in workplaces and on the streets until housing ceases to be a privilege and salaries make it possible to live with dignity.’

The unions argue that the housing crisis has become a workplace issue because salaries are no longer sufficient to cover rapidly rising rents and other living costs.

Recent demonstrations saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets across Spain demanding lower rents, greater protection for tenants and the construction of more affordable homes.

Protesters repeatedly called for a general strike during the demonstrations.

The decision is likely to increase political pressure during an election campaign in which housing is expected to be one of the defining issues.

Spain’s main business association, CEOE, has criticised the strike and questioned whether a nationwide walkout over housing falls within the legal scope of industrial action.

The unions reject that argument, maintaining that housing costs have a direct effect on workers’ salaries and living conditions.

Further details about demonstrations, minimum services and the sectors expected to be most affected will be announced closer to November 11.