Can I strike without being dismissed?
Yes: striking is a fundamental right and you can't be dismissed for it. The right to strike is recognised in the Constitution (art. 28). If it's called and exercised legally —with notice, a strike committee, notification to the company and the labour authority, and respecting the minimum services set in essential activities— you can't be dismissed or sanctioned for joining it: a dismissal for legal striking would be void (with mandatory reinstatement). During the strike, your contract is suspended: you don't earn the salary of the strike days, nor is there contribution for them, but it's not considered an absence. Informational pickets are legal; coercive ones (forcing or threatening) aren't. The company can't replace you with external strikebreakers during the strike.
📋 The rules
- Striking is a fundamental right (Constitution, art. 28)
- Must be called legally: notice, committee, minimum services
- Can't dismiss or sanction you for legal striking (void dismissal)
- During the strike: no salary or contribution for those days
- Informational pickets yes; coercive ones no
🔓 Exceptions
- Minimum services in essential activities: must be respected
- Illegal or abusive strikes: without the same protection
- Ban on replacing strikers with external staff (strikebreaking)
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Dismissing or sanctioning a worker for joining a legal strike is a void dismissal or void sanction, with reinstatement and payment of wages. A company that replaces strikers with external staff (strikebreaking) or that violates the right to strike commits a serious offence and a violation of a fundamental right. For the worker, the trade-off is that during the strike they don't receive salary or contribute for those days. If the strike is illegal or abusive, protection lapses and there could be disciplinary consequences. To exercise it safely, join a legal call and respect the minimum services.
📎 Official sources
- BOE · Spanish Constitution (right to strike, art. 28) →
- BOE · Royal Decree-law 17/1977 on labour relations (strike) →
- Ministry of Labour · Right to strike →
❓ Frequently asked
Can I be dismissed for striking?
No, if the strike is legal. Striking is a fundamental right: joining a legally called strike can't lead to dismissal or sanction. A dismissal for exercising the right to strike would be void, with mandatory reinstatement of the worker and payment of wages.
Am I paid for strike days?
No. During the strike your contract is suspended: you don't receive the salary of the strike days, nor is there Social Security contribution for them. In return, those days aren't considered an absence and can't be sanctioned if the strike is legal.
What are minimum services?
They're the services that must be maintained during a strike in activities or services essential to the community (health, transport, etc.), to guarantee citizens' basic rights. The authority sets them and they must be respected; breaching them can have consequences.
Are pickets legal?
Informational pickets, which publicise the strike and invite others to join, are legal. What's not allowed are coercive pickets, which force or threaten other workers to join or prevent those who don't want to strike from working; that can be a crime.
Can the company replace us during the strike?
Not with external staff. Replacing strikers with workers from outside the company (external strikebreaking) is banned and violates the right to strike. Doing it is a serious offence and a breach of a fundamental right, claimable in court.
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