The Board sets minimum fire services in the face of the general strike

The Department of Sustainable Development of the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha has established the minimum services for the prevention and extinction of forest fires for the general strike called for November 11, 2026. The decision is detailed in the Resolution of 10/28/2026, published in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha (DOCM) number 212, of November 5, 2026, with the official reference 2026/7869. The arrangement affects the Department’s own personnel and the Public Company Gestión Ambiental de Castilla-La Mancha, S.A. (Geacam).

The legal framework for minimum coverage

The resolution is based on Article 28.2 of the Spanish Constitution, which mandates guaranteeing the maintenance of essential community services, and Article 10.2 of Royal Decree-Law 17/1977, of March 4, on labor relations, which empowers the government authority to adopt the necessary measures.

The regional development corresponds to Decree 78/2010, of June 1, which establishes the general instructions for setting minimum services in the regional Administration. Article 6.3 and its sole additional provision attribute this competence to the head of the Department competent in the matter, also regarding services provided through indirect management.

The call for the strike corresponds to the Trade Union Confederations of Comisiones Obreras, the General Union of Workers (UGT), and Intersindical, among others, and extends to the entire day of November 11. Several calls further specify that the strike includes the shift prior to 00:00 hours of that day and the shift that begins then and ends the following day.

Three commanders and intervention units per province

The annex of the resolution details the personnel of the Department’s Fire Prevention and Extinction Service:

• Central Services: 1 COR Technician.
• Albacete, Ciudad Real, Cuenca, Guadalajara, and Toledo: in each provincial delegation, 1 Technician during low and medium danger periods and 1 Environmental Agent during low and medium danger periods per region.

For Geacam, the document sets in the Central Services of the Regional Operations Center 1 UNAP Technician, 1 Forest Firefighter Radio Operator for the Operations Center 24 hours a day, and 1 Console Operator. In each of the five provincial delegations, 1 Forest Firefighter Technician for Prevention, Support, Logistics, and Resources, 1 Forest Firefighter Radio Operator for the Operations Center for 14 hours, and 1 Forest Firefighter coordinator for supplies, logistics, and resources are maintained.

The intervention units are as follows:

• Albacete: two forest firefighters in each of the units C2M A122, A151, and A143.
• Ciudad Real: two forest firefighters in units C2M A252, A242, and A213.
• Cuenca: two forest firefighters in units C2M A352, A321, and A354.
• Guadalajara: four forest firefighters in unit C2M D433 and four in D461.
• Toledo: two forest firefighters in units C2M A541 and A543.

In total, the intervention units are mobilizing 30 forest firefighters on the day of the strike.

Low danger period and personnel designation

The Department justifies the sizing on the grounds that November 11, 2026, is classified as a low danger period according to Order 76/2026, of May 26, which regulates preventive measures, fire uses, and activities with a risk of forest fire in the natural environment and forest lands of the region. In this period, the extinction service provided for in the Special Forest Fire Emergency Plan is delivered, among other means, with Geacam personnel sized at their essential minimum.

The resolution emphasizes that the coverage has been calculated seeking a fair balance between the right to strike and other constitutionally protected rights, using forest fires from previous years as a reference. Furthermore, it orders the designation of sufficient personnel for the safety of people and property and for the maintenance of premises, machinery, facilities, and raw materials.

The designation of personnel shall correspond to the head of the General Secretariat of Central Services and the heads of the Provincial Delegations, and in Geacam to the management directorate, with prior communication to the staff representatives. The text is signed in Toledo on October 28, 2026, by the counselor Mª Mercedes Gómez Rodríguez.

Appeals and relevance

Against the resolution, which ends the administrative route, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed within one month before the Department of Sustainable Development, or a contentious-administrative appeal before the High Court of Justice of Castilla-La Mancha within two months, counted from the day following its publication in the DOCM.

The regulation specifies how many personnel will remain operational during the general strike, a decisive piece of data for rural municipalities, which depend on the regional system and Geacam for the first response to a fire outside the maximum risk season.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, no. 212, November 5, 2026, section I (General Provisions), pp. 39179-39182 (official reference: 2026/7869).