Peace Brigades International-Spanish State has posted on its social media channels in three languages that it “supports the strike against genocide in Palestine called for 15 October.”
elDiario.es reports: “This Wednesday, 15 October, various trade unions have called for strikes across the country and in all workplaces: the Comisiones Obreras [the Workers Commissions with 1,087,714 members] and the UGT [the General Union of Workers representing 983,521 members] have registered a call for partial two-hour strikes during each work shift, while the CGT [the General Confederation of Labour with 80,000 members] has called for a 24-hour general strike nationwide.”
Social media post from the Comisiones Obreras.
Social media post from the UGT.
Social media post from the CGT.
The elDiario.es article also notes: “The unions organizing the protests have issued statements justifying their decision [despite the recent ceasefire]. In the case of Comisiones Obreras and UGT, last Friday they stated that ‘no plan can be considered a lasting peace if it excludes the Palestinian people, perpetuates the occupation or ignores United Nations resolutions’. For its part, the CGT union issued a statement on Monday reaffirming its call for action due to Israel’s violation of previous agreements and the uncertainty as to whether this is a ceasefire agreement or a peace agreement: ‘This is a ‘phased agreement’ and tensions could lead to further attacks at any time.’”
And elDiario.es also explains: “On this occasion, workers throughout the country and in all sectors are called to strike. It applies to all salaried workers, in any sector or activity, whether public or private. …The right to strike is a personal right recognized by the Spanish Constitution, whether or not the worker is a union member. Official calls by trade unions allow all workers to exercise this right, whether in partial stoppages or in a 24-hour general strike.”
Human rights defenders under attack
Last month, the London, UK-based organization Global Witness noted: “In 2024, two separate international court rulings cited that a case of genocide in Gaza was plausible and ordered Israel to cease military actions aimed at destroying the population.”
Global Witness adds: “Documenting killings and disappearances of land and environmental defenders within these contexts is challenging and has not been possible for 2024. To do so in the future, it is vital to situate the work of Palestinian defenders within the wider struggle for self-determination and their land and environmental rights.”
In May 2025, the Dublin-based organization Front Line Defenders (the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders) also acknowledged: “In some regions and countries, including Palestine, the documentation of cases is highly challenging, if not virtually impossible.”
Despite this, Front Line Defenders documented the killing of 31 Palestinian human rights defenders in 2023 and 2024.
They further note: “Those defending the right to health and the right to life as doctors, nurses, or ambulance workers, those exposing and documenting war crimes as journalists, and those providing humanitarian support as volunteers or employees of aid agencies were all specifically targeted by Israeli bombs or guns.”
Further reading:
Unifor passes resolution in support of Palestinian workers and their call for an arms embargo on Israel (August 27, 2025)
PBI-Guatemala observes march in Guatemala City that denounces the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza (October 6, 2025).
PBI-Canada observes emergency rally calling for the release of Gaza flotilla participants held in Israeli custody (October 10, 2025)
