Almería is holding the 11-N general strike today. These are the minimum services for Surbus, the metropolitan buses, the trains, the airport, the boat to Melilla, the hospitals and the schools, and the marches of the day.
This Wednesday, November 11, there is a general strike. It is called by CCOO, UGT, CGT, CNT and other unions across Spain, over wages, housing and prices. It lasts from 00:00 to 24:00; in companies with shifts, it begins in the last shift before midnight. In Almería, the City Council has taken on the minimums set by the Junta and has added those of its own services.
Buses
Surbus operates at 60%, according to the resolution of the Junta that the City Council has adopted; it recommends checking the schedules at surbusalmeria.es. The Consorcio's metropolitan buses have the same 60%.
Media Distancia trains, including the Avant, run at 65% on average and the AVE and Larga Distancia at 73%, according to the resolution of the Ministry of Transport reported by Renfe. Iryo keeps 32 of its 44 trains and Ouigo, 69%. The ticket offices handle changes and refunds; before going to the station it is advisable to check whether one's train is among those running.
At the Almería airport, Transport protects 52% of flights with the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, 53% of international and domestic flights without an alternative by land in less than five hours, and 32% of the rest (resolution).
At the port, the Almería-Melilla line has guaranteed one boat in each direction, provided the sea allows it (resolution of the Merchant Marine).
SAS hospitals work like a Sunday or public holiday, with emergencies, ICUs, delivery rooms and emergency operating rooms fully covered. Treatments that cannot wait are guaranteed: chemotherapy, radiotherapy, cancer surgery, dialysis and oxygen therapy. What is not guaranteed are consultations, tests and scheduled operations that can be postponed, so anyone with an appointment today may find that it is changed.
In health centres that do not have emergencies (SUAP) at least one doctor remains for urgent cases; in the auxiliary clinics there are no minimums and one must go to the reference centre, as on a public holiday. 061 maintains 90% of call handling and all its mobile teams, and Salud Responde, 75%. Pharmacies open as on a Sunday. This is set by the order of the Regional Ministry of Health (SAS note).
Schools
Schools and secondary schools open with one member of the management team and between one and three more teachers, depending on the number of students, but classes are not guaranteed. The canteen operates at most at 33% of usual, so it is advisable to ask at the centre before leaving the children to eat. Nursery schools for 0 to 3 years remain with the management, one to four technicians and one person in the kitchen.
Municipal services
The City Council keeps 14 firefighters on duty, a Civil Protection coordinator and two IT technicians on call; the Local Police work normally. Cleaning, collection, water, street lighting and tow truck, which are contracted with companies, follow the Junta's minimums, which require collecting rubbish next to hospitals, schools, residences and markets. No specific cleaning figure has been published.
Residences for the elderly, for people with disabilities and for minors operate as on a public holiday, and day centres at 50%. Home help is provided according to the degree of dependency, from 90% of hours in the most severe cases to 40% in grade I, always with personal care, food and medication guaranteed.
Other services
—Correos: offices open at their usual hours with one to three people per shift and delivery is maintained at half, especially because of the postal vote of 29-N (order in the BOE).
—Petrol stations: at least 20% of those in each comarca must open (BOE).
—112: provincial rooms work with half their operators and regional ones with 80%.
—State offices (SEPE, Social Security, DNI): they have no published minimum services. They open, but service depends on how many people join the strike.
—Banks and shops: they are not essential services and have no minimums. Each will open according to its staff.
—Canal Sur: it only broadcasts the news, in reduced format.
—Junta museums and monuments: only security remains, so the foreseeable outcome is that they close.
Demonstrations
The UGT and CCOO demonstration sets off at 17:30 from plaza de las Velas and continues along Emilio Pérez, Federico García Lorca and calle Murcia to the Anfiteatro de la Rambla. In the morning there are gatherings from 8:00 under the Cable Inglés, a CGT march at 10:00 from the Intermodal to the Mercado Central and another at 13:45 towards Las Almadrabillas. In the province, SOC-SAT has called one in Níjar at 11:00 and in El Ejido at 19:00. This is what the organisers have circulated.
What no one has published yet is the turnout figures. AlmeríaYa will be reporting throughout the day on how the minimum services are being met.
