General strike in Málaga: shops open, traffic down 26.5% amid orange rain alert

The general strike on Wednesday 11 November had limited impact on daily life in Málaga city and province, according to SUR in English, with most shops and bars open and public services running almost as normal. Roads were far quieter, though Diario Sur said it is hard to separate the effect of the strike from that of an orange weather alert for torrential rain.

Key facts

• Strike: a general strike over the housing price and cost of living crisis was held on 11 November.
• Turnout: CCOO and UGT put participation in the province at over 60%; the CEM employers' organisation called it minor.
• Flights: just 14 were cancelled at Costa del Sol Airport, SUR in English reported.
• Traffic: access routes into Málaga city fell 26.5% over the day compared with Wednesday 4 November.

Shops, services and transport

SUR in English reported that most shops, bars and restaurants stayed open. Some closed briefly as information picket lines passed, then reopened shortly afterwards.

Civil servants in various public services worked either from home or in the office and carried out their duties as normal. The paper described little disruption to healthcare and education, and transport running almost as usual.

The cultural sector operated at half capacity, according to the report, and there was a 10% drop in the number of workers travelling to industrial areas.

Unions and employers disagree

As on every general strike day, unions and employers disagreed over turnout, SUR in English noted. CCOO and UGT put participation in the province at over 60%.

The CEM employers' organisation said participation was "minor across all sectors, as the normal functioning of economic activity in the province, particularly within the private sector showed". It based this on electricity demand in Andalucía, which on Wednesday morning was 6.5% lower than on the same day the previous week and 0.9% lower than on Tuesday.

Roads emptier, but rain was a factor

Diario Sur, citing official records from the DGT (Spain's traffic authority) and the Málaga city council's mobility department, reported that traffic on access routes to the capital fell 26.5% over the whole day compared with Wednesday 4 November. Traffic within the city fell 17.8% up to 3pm, from 85,732 to 70,509 movements.

The biggest drop on the access roads was at Alto de las Pedrizas (A-45), at 30.6%. On the A-7 motorway, the entry from Rincón de la Victoria fell 26.6% and the one from Torremolinos 24.9%.

The steepest hourly fall came at 7pm, at 44.2%. The morning rush hour between 7am and 9am saw an average fall of 24.1%. Midnight was the only hour with an increase, at 5.1%.

Heavy goods vehicles over 12,000 kg dropped 29.5%, from 261 to 184. Buses, including city, intercity and school services, fell 20.6%, and light vehicles fell 17.1%.

Diario Sur said the strike coincided with an orange alert for heavy rain, and that it is hard to say where one factor ends and the other begins. The council's mobility department left motorcycles out of the comparison because the weather had directly affected two-wheeled traffic and it did not want to distort the measurement of the strike's impact.

What it means for readers

The figures show that the strike was visible on the roads but much less so in shops, bars and public services. Turnout claims remain disputed, and the traffic data cannot be attributed to the strike alone.