Interior sets minimum private security services at 80%

The State Secretariat for Security, under the Ministry of the Interior, has determined the percentage of private security personnel assigned to essential services during the supra-autonomous general strike called for November 11, 2026. The decision is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) no. 274, of November 4, 2026, section III, by means of the Resolution of October 30, 2026 (official reference BOE-A-2026-23157). The required coverage ranges from 80% to 90% depending on the type of facility, with a minimum of one security guard per service and shift.

The framework of the resolution is Royal Decree 524/2002, of June 14, which guarantees the provision of essential services in the field of private security in strike situations and which, in its article 3, empowers the holder of the State Secretariat for Security to set the percentage when the territorial scope of the strike is supra-autonomous. The regulation is based on article 8.6 of Law 5/2014, of April 4, on Private Security, and article 10.2 of Royal Decree-Law 17/1977, of March 4, on labor relations, in accordance with the doctrine of the Constitutional Court established in Judgment 11/1981, of April 8.

The text justifies the percentages in the twelve strategic sectors defined by Law 8/2011, of April 28, on the protection of critical infrastructures, and in Directive (EU) 2022/2557 on the resilience of critical entities. It also cites “the violent public order disturbances that occurred recently” and the current counter-terrorism alert level as contextual elements.

Coverage by type of service

The resolution establishes a closed catalog of percentages, which must be respected in all cases:

• 80% in petrochemical plants, refineries, and fuel depots; in nuclear power plants and facilities, including the minimum staffing set by the Nuclear Safety Council; in firearms and explosives factories and their storage areas; in the processing, storage, transport, and distribution of flammable materials; and in the supply and distribution of water, gas, and electricity.
• 80% in the storage, custody, counting, and sorting of coins, banknotes, and other valuable or dangerous objects, as well as in their transport and distribution.
• 80% in banks, savings banks, credit institutions, and other establishments where security services are mandatory.
• 90% in public transport—ports, airports, railways, bus stations, and the metro—and in telecommunications centers, the highest percentage in the document.
• 80% in centers and headquarters of social media outlets.
• 85% in the protection of persons, including services in public or private establishments, locations, and events, and on Spanish-flagged fishing or merchant vessels carrying weapons of war.
• 80% in alarm monitoring centers.

One security guard per service and shift

Below those percentages, the resolution establishes a common floor: in locations with few guards or very low percentages of minimum services, at least one security guard per service and shift shall always be guaranteed. In all cases, the minimum staffing established by the regulations, the authorization, the security plan, or the applicable self-protection plan must also be respected.

The document specifies the temporal perimeter of the measure. Since it is a strike called for November 11, 2026, in activities subject to a shift system, minimum services will be maintained from the start of the first affected shift, even if it begins before 00:00 hours of that day, until the end of the last affected shift, even if it concludes after 24:00 hours.

The weight of cash distribution

The resolution pays special attention to the activities of transport and distribution of funds. It emphasizes that the strike coincides with the period for payroll and supplier payments at the beginning of the month, and that not all autonomous communities have delegations or headquarters of the Bank of Spain, meaning authorized companies operate routes with “shuttle” vehicles from other communities. Therefore, the percentage in this area cannot drop below 80%.

The resolution is signed by the Secretary of State for Security, Ana María Calvo Sastre, in Madrid, on October 30, 2026.

The measure directly affects the workforce that security companies must mobilize on November 11 and, by extension, the operation of banks, transport, media, and basic utilities. For citizens, the established percentages determine which services will remain operational during the strike day and with what intensity; for companies in the sector, they mark the boundary between the workers’ right to strike and the obligation to maintain surveillance in infrastructures considered critical.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 274, November 4, 2026, Sec. III. Other Provisions, p. 148049 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-23157).