“Having a better life also thinking about the future.” This is how one of the protesters who took to the streets of Almería this Tuesday summarizes the reason why she decided to participate in the general strike on November 11.
NewsWork has traveled to the pickets that are taking place in Almería to directly ask their participants what they are demanding and what problems are most affecting them. Housing, salaries, health and education are repeated among the answers.
The day can also be followed on Noticias Trabajo live on the general strike of 11N, where information is being provided throughout the day on the strikes, demonstrations, minimum services and pickets, in addition to all the reactions of the political representatives and secretaries of the main unions, as well as the employers’ association.
“Young people are the ones who are going to find everything they are leaving now”
One of the protesters especially focuses on the future of those who are still young.
“Above all, have a better life also thinking about the future. Have the right to a house, have the right to a proper education, proper healthcare and, in general, everything.”
His message for the new generations is not to remain on the sidelines of the mobilizations.
“Don’t look at us, let them unite. They are the future and they are the ones who are going to find everything they are leaving behind now.”
Another of the interviewees summarizes the demands in three large blocks: “Decent housing, decent wages and quality public services.”
Regarding the real estate market, he is especially forceful: “Housing cannot be a speculative good. There are people who are profiting from a people’s need.”
He also demands a salary increase because, in his opinion, “the standard of living is rising, but salaries are not rising at the same rate.”
And regarding public services, he defends that “we must invest more in the public and less in the private.”
“Without health you have nothing”
Asked if these mobilizations are politicized, this protester responds that decisions about budgets and public services are, inevitably, political.
“There is a motto that says: ‘Whoever governs governs, the public defends itself.’”
His objective, he assures, is not to support a specific formation, but to “influence what politicians decide.”
In addition, he acknowledges that the attendance at the picket has surprised them. “Initially, about 200 people were summoned and people have been showing up. People want to go out on the streets. We expected much fewer people.”
The last of those interviewed by NoticiasTrabajo puts even more emphasis on public services.
“Absolutely everything touches me. My co-workers at the hospital touch me, my classmates who cannot have adequate housing, and the students who have to pay a lot.”
If I had to choose only two demands, I would choose health and education: “They are basic things that should be guaranteed. Health for everyone and affordable public education for everyone.”
Although he immediately adds the third.
“Without health you have nothing. Without education, neither. But obviously decent housing, without housing, where do you go?”
For her, all three are part of the same thing: “They are three fundamental pillars that should be assured to all people.”
Several protesters from the 11N general strike agree: “I don’t have the salary to have a home. I still haven’t been able to become independent.”
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A message that summarizes a good part of what was heard this Tuesday on the pickets in Almería: salaries, housing and public services as the main reasons for taking to the streets.