Barcelona parking staff strike begins as blue zone made free for two weeks

The Barcelona City Council announced that the city's blue‑zone parking area will be free of charge from the evening of 8 August until the morning of 24 August, covering roughly 1,500 spaces and about 70 meters of meters across the central and Eix Macià districts. This temporary suspension follows a long‑standing practice of waiving fees in the blue zone during August.

On the same day, the trade union CCOO called a strike of the municipal parking staff that will run every Saturday and Sunday from 8 August until 16 January 2027. The action targets the entire parking system – blue, green, resident‑only zones and loading areas – managed by Barcelona Serveis Municipals (BSM). CCOO demands the restoration of salary discounts applied after a previous strike and objects to provisions in a new collective agreement, while BSM argues the strike is disproportionate to the current situation.