La Canadenca strike

A brick wall depicting a mass of people with raised fists. It has been defaced wit graffiti. A slide for children is in front of it.
Defaced mural commemorating the 100th anniversary of the strike on a former factory of Barcelona

The Canadenca strike[1] (Catalan: Vaga de La Canadenca, Spanish: huelga de La Canadiense) was a historic strike action in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that was initiated in February 1919 by the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and lasted over 44 days evolving into a general strike paralyzing much of the industry of Catalonia. Among its consequences was to force the Spanish government to issue the Decreto de la jornada de ocho horas de trabajo, the first law limiting the working day to eight hours.[2] The strike originated at the principal electricity company in Barcelona, Riegos y Fuerzas del Ebro, a subsidiary of Barcelona Traction, popularly known as la Canadenca because its major shareholder was the Canadian Bank of Commerce of Toronto.[3]

  1. ^ "La vaga de "La Canadenca" i l'establiment de la jornada de vuit hores a l'Estat espanyol". Solidaridad Obrera (in Spanish). 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2019-09-28.
  2. ^ Meaker, Gerald H. (1974). The Revolutionary Left in Spain, 1914-1923. Stanford University Press. p. 159 ff. ISBN 0-8047-0845-2.
  3. ^ "La huelga de 'La Canadiense'". 8 February 2016.