Catalonia is holding a general strike today, Friday 18 October, in protest at the guilty verdict of the 2017 referendum leaders, including other demands.
Pro-independence trade unions Intersindical-CSC and IAC called the stoppage shortly before the judges’ decision.
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They say the reason for the strike is that their long-standing demands have not yet been met, including a higher minimum wage and equality-promoting measures.
Whilst neither trade union made any explicit mention of the Supreme Court verdict – the law prohibits unions from calling strikes for political reasons – they say they are committed to Catalonia’s national rights, which they also believe affect labour rights.
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From early on Friday morning, citizens supporting the protest are blocking several roads including the Catalonia’s two main motorways: AP-7 (in La Jonquera, near the French border) and AP-2 (in Tarrés, in the west).
Some other roads across Catalonia have also been cut off by protestors joining the strike, including N-II, N-340, C-25, C-55, C-14, N-145 and C-12, as well as several key avenues in Barcelona. Some public transport lines are also interrupted.
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This Friday is also set to be the fifth day of protests, marches and demonstrations. The strike has already had some impact, including a decrease in the electricity usage, a halt in the production at the SEAT car factory, and the suspension of all sort of events across Catalonia.
In the afternoon, a big demonstration at 5pm will see the five 100-km marches towards Barcelona from several Catalan cities lasting three days converge.
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We will be updating this report during the day.
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At least 55 flights have been cancelled at Barcelona El Prat airport due to the general strike across Catalonia.
The numbers participating in the Catalan strike: 60-80% in commerce, 90% of university students, 43% in public education, 30% of civil servants, 26.3% in health, and 36% of workers on the metro. According to reports, electricity consumption has fallen across Catalonia over 10% due to the strike.
The Sagrada Família closed its doors as pro-independence supporters brought the demonstrations to its gates.
