Executive Summary
The first quarter of 2026 saw significant labor action across Europe, with 458 strikes recorded across 8 countries monitored by StrikeTracker. Of these, 5 were critical (national or regional general strikes), 62 major, 276 minor, and 115 low severity. February emerged as the peak month with 177 strikes, driven largely by escalating public sector wage disputes in Germany.
Spain topped the list with 97 strikes including two critical general strikes in March. Germany followed closely with 94 strikes, fueled by ver.di's TVoD (public sector collective bargaining) warning strikes that culminated in a nationwide public transport shutdown. France recorded 93 strikes concentrated in healthcare and education, while Italy logged 83 strikes dominated by transport disruptions. The United Kingdom saw 66 strikes, primarily in bus transport and higher education, followed by Belgium with 18 strikes — fewer in number but high in impact, including a national general strike on March 12.
The Netherlands and Norway had minimal or no recorded activity during the quarter.
About This Data
This report is compiled from strike data automatically collected by StrikeTracker's AI-powered monitoring agents, which continuously scan and track labor actions across Europe. We manually review a portion of entries and verify reports flagged by our users, but not every entry has been human-reviewed. This data may not capture all strikes that occurred in Q1 2026, and some details may contain inaccuracies. We do not claim 100% data completeness or accuracy. If you spot an error, please let us know.
Monthly Trend
Strike activity showed a clear pattern across the quarter. January started with 136 strikes, driven by Italian transport actions and UK disputes carrying over from late 2025. Activity surged in February to 177 strikes as German public sector wage negotiations escalated, with ver.di organizing warning strikes that culminated in a nationwide public transport shutdown. March saw 145 strikes, with Spain becoming the most active country driven by two regional general strikes.
Country-by-Country Analysis
The Big Five
🇩🇪 Germany — 94 Strikes
Germany recorded 94 strikes in Q1 2026, driven overwhelmingly by ver.di's TVoD public sector wage campaign. Notably, dozens of localized city-level transport warning strikes in late February were consolidated into a single nationwide action on February 27-28 — so the headline count reflects distinct public-facing actions, not the underlying sub-strikes.
Peak month: February (53 strikes) — ver.di escalated from localized warning strikes to city-wide and eventually a nationwide shutdown as collective bargaining talks stalled.
Key sectors: Public transport (41 strikes), municipal services, education, and healthcare
Critical strike: Nationwide public transport strike on February 27-28, organized by ver.di, affecting bus, tram, and metro services across all major German cities.
Notable actions:
- University hospital strikes in multiple states (severity 3)
- Lufthansa pilot strike by Vereinigung Cockpit
- GEW education "Streiktag" coordinated across several states
- dbb beamtenbund public service actions (11 strikes)
Public impact: 27 strikes impacted schools, 26 affected bus services, 19 affected hospitals, 16 disrupted tram networks, and 6 disrupted metro systems. Germany accounted for the highest school disruption in Europe during Q1.
🇪🇸 Spain — 97 Strikes
Spain recorded 97 strikes in Q1 2026, with activity heavily concentrated in March (53 strikes). Unlike Germany's union-dominated landscape, Spain saw broad participation from multiple unions and sectors.
Peak month: March (53 strikes) — two critical general strikes drove the surge
Key sectors: Healthcare, education, public services, and transport
Critical strikes:
- Basque Country and Navarra general strike (March 17) — Multi-sector walkout demanding a 1,500 EUR regional minimum wage, organized by ELA and LAB
- Andalusia, Ceuta, and Melilla general strike (March 8) — CGT-organized 24-hour action coinciding with International Women's Day
Top unions: UGT (17 strikes), CCOO (15), ELA (12), LAB (10), CGT (9), CIG (9)
Notable actions:
- Recurring national doctors' strike (one week per month, February through June)
- Multiple education sector strikes across autonomous communities
- Public impact: 14 strikes affected schools, 13 affected hospitals
🇫🇷 France — 93 Strikes
France recorded 93 strikes across Q1, distributed relatively evenly between February (37) and March (34). Healthcare and education were the dominant sectors, reflecting ongoing tensions over public service funding and working conditions.
Peak months: February and March (roughly equal activity)
Key sectors: Healthcare (hospitals, social care, private clinics), education, public services, rail transport
Notable actions:
- SUD-Rail nationwide rail strike notice spanning December 2025 into January 2026
- Private-clinic doctors' strike with a symbolic "exile to Brussels" protest
- Solidaires national public service strike notice covering all of Q1
- International Women's Day feminist strike (March 8)
- 27 major-severity strikes, mostly long-duration rolling notices in healthcare
Top unions: CGT family (CGT Sante, CGT Finances, FNME-CGT), FO, SUD, Solidaires
Public impact: 18 strikes affected hospitals, 17 affected schools, 5 disrupted airports. France had the second-highest hospital impact in Europe during Q1.
🇮🇹 Italy — 83 Strikes
Italy logged 83 strikes in Q1 2026, with a distinctive pattern: January was the peak month (42 strikes), declining through the quarter. This is unusual compared to other European countries and reflects Italy's concentrated transport strike calendar in the post-holiday period.
Peak month: January (42 strikes)
Key sectors: Local bus transport (29 strikes), air transport (ground handling, airlines, ATC — 18 combined), rail (11 strikes)
Critical strike: National general strike on March 9 — cross-sector action affecting transport, public services, and industry
Top unions: UILT-UIL (24), FILT-CGIL (23), FIT-CISL (21), USB Lavoro Privato (18), FAISA-CISAL (12)
Notable actions:
- Multiple airline-specific strikes (easyJet, Vueling, ITA Airways)
- Air traffic control strikes causing international flight delays
- 18 major-severity strikes in transport
- Public impact: 35 bus strikes, 18 airport disruptions, 11 train strikes
Italy had the highest airport disruption rate in Europe during Q1.
🇧🇪 Belgium — 18 Strikes
Belgium recorded 18 strikes in Q1 2026 — fewer in number but disproportionately high in impact. The country's centralized union structure means that when strikes happen, they tend to be large-scale.
Critical strike: National strike on March 12 — organized by all three major union confederations (CSC/ACV, FGTB/ABVV, CGSLB/ACLVB), causing massive disruption to transport, schools, and public services across the country.
Key sectors: Public transport (bus/tram), public services
Top unions: CSC/ACV (5 strikes), FGTB/ABVV (3)
Public impact: 7 bus disruptions, 7 tram disruptions, 4 school closures
Brief: Netherlands and Norway
🇳🇱 Netherlands — 7 Strikes
The Netherlands had modest strike activity in Q1, with 7 recorded actions. Key disputes centered on youth care worker conditions and civil service pay freezes. CNV (7 strikes) and FNV (3) were the most active unions. Three strikes reached major severity, including civil service pay freeze disputes. One strike affected airport operations.
🇳🇴 Norway — 0 Strikes
Norway recorded no strike activity in Q1 2026. This aligns with Norway's strong collective bargaining framework and tradition of resolving disputes through negotiation before resorting to industrial action. However, a teacher strike in Bergen was announced starting April 14, suggesting Q2 may see some activity.
Sector Analysis
Transport was overwhelmingly the most affected sector across Europe in Q1 2026, accounting for over a third of all recorded strikes. Public transport (buses, trams, metro) bore the brunt, followed by air transport and rail.
Healthcare and education were the second and third most-affected sectors respectively, with France leading in healthcare disruptions and Germany/Spain leading in education strikes.
Severity Distribution
The majority of Q1 strikes were minor severity (severity 2), reflecting the prevalence of warning strikes and short-duration actions — particularly in Germany, where ver.di's strategy relied on repeated one-day walkouts to pressure employers.
However, the quarter also saw 5 critical-severity strikes (severity 4) — national or regional general strikes with massive public impact — and 62 major-severity strikes (severity 3) involving significant transport disruptions, multi-day actions, or widespread public service shutdowns.
Public Impact
Across all 8 countries, strike actions had measurable impact on public infrastructure and services:
| Service | Strikes Affecting | Most Impacted Country |
|---|---|---|
| Bus | 86 | Italy (35) |
| Schools | 72 | Germany (27) |
| Hospitals | 58 | Germany (19) |
| Airport | 33 | Italy (18) |
| Tram | 28 | Germany (16) |
| Train | 21 | Italy (11) |
| Metro | 18 | Germany (6) |
Top Unions
Union activity in Q1 2026 was dominated by a handful of major organizations. Germany's ver.di was by far the most prolific, responsible for 67 publicly listed strikes — more than the total strike count of most individual countries. Many of ver.di's localized warning strikes were later consolidated into larger coordinated actions.
What to Watch in Q2 2026
As of mid-April, 32 strikes have already been announced for Q2 2026 across the monitored countries. Key actions to watch:
- Belgium: National strike on May 12 — All three union confederations (ABVV/ACV/ACLVB) have announced a multi-sector general strike
- Germany: Lufthansa Group pilots' strike (April 13-14) — Vereinigung Cockpit over pay and conditions
- Italy: National journalists' strike (April 16) — FNSI, protesting a decade-long contract freeze
- Italy: Private healthcare workers' strike (April 17) — FP CGIL/CISL FP/UIL FPL
- France: Nationwide lawyers' "Justice morte" strike (April 13) — Barreau de Paris
Germany continues to see active warning strikes in Bavarian public transport (Munich, Nuremberg, Regensburg) and ver.di regional bus actions. Spain's recurring national doctors' strike continues monthly through June, with a Cadiz Province bus dispute escalating toward an indefinite strike on June 22.
Norway may finally see activity with a teacher strike in Bergen starting April 14.
Stay updated on all upcoming strikes at striketracker.app.
This is the first edition of StrikeTracker's quarterly European strike report. We plan to publish these reports each quarter to provide a comprehensive overview of labor action trends across Europe. Follow us on X and LinkedIn for updates.