Date
Name
Place
Country
1820
Radical War
Central Belt , Scotland
United Kingdom
Influenced by Radical demands for reform, especially among Scottish weavers
1835
Philadelphia general strike of 1835
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
Successful strike for a ten-hour work day and better wages
1842
General Strike of 1842
England and Wales
United Kingdom
Chartist general strike against low wages originating from coal miners in Staffordshire before spreading to multiple industries in the Midlands as well as coal mines across the country.
1855
1855 Catalan general strike
Catalonia
Spain
1862–1865
General strike of slaves
Nationwide
Confederate States of America
Slaves in the Southern United States stopped work and attempted to cross the frontlines of the American Civil War into Union territory, in what W.E.B. Du Bois held to be a crucial turning point in the war.[ 48]
1877
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
West Virginia , Maryland , New York , Pennsylvania , Illinois , Missouri
United States
Strike by rail workers in a number of different states for wage increases; ended after 52 days with a suppression by the National Guard and local militias
1886
Walloon jacquerie of 1886
Wallonia
Belgium
1892
New Orleans general strike of 1892
New Orleans, Louisiana
United States
Successful strike for a 10-hour day and overtime pay ; notable for the participation of both white and black strikers
1893
Belgian general strike of 1893
Mons
Belgium
Strike by the Belgian Labour Party to pressure Prime Minister Auguste Beernaert 's Catholic Party government to introduce universal male suffrage
1901
1901 Ybor City strikes [ 49]
Ybor City , Tampa, Florida
United States
1902
Geneva general strike of 1902
Geneva
Switzerland
1904
1904 Italian general strike
Nationwide
Italy
1905
1905 Russian Revolution
Nationwide
Russian Empire
General strike by workers in the industrial centres of the Russian Empire; suppressed by the Imperial Russian Army .
1907
Geneva general strike of 1907
Geneva
Switzerland
1907
New Orleans General Levee Strike of 1907
New Orleans
United States
1909
Tragic Week
Barcelona , Catalonia
Spain
1909
Swedish General Strike
Nationwide
Sweden
Unsuccessful general strike called by the Swedish Trade Union Confederation
1910
Philadelphia general strike of 1910
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
United States
Amalgamated Transit Union strike of Philadelphia Transportation Company trolley workers which expanded into a citywide American Federation of Labor general strike, eventually leading to wage increases
1912
Brisbane general strike of 1912
Brisbane , Queensland
Australia
Caused when Australian Tramway Employees Union members were dismissed for wearing union badges; ended with Queensland Police Service attacks on labor marchers in Market Square leading to a public outcry and the strengthening of the Australian labour movement
1912
Zürich general strike of 1912
Zürich
Switzerland
1917
Australian general strike of 1917
Nationwide
Australia
1917
Spanish general strike of 1917
Nationwide
Spain
1917
1917–1919 Brazil strike movement
Rio de Janeiro , São Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul
Brazil
Series of general strikes leading to an attempted anarchist uprising against the First Brazilian Republic .
1917
1917 Twin Cities streetcar strike
Minneapolis–Saint Paul
United States
Sympathetic general strike held on December 13 in support of streetcar workers who had been engaged in a labor dispute for the past several weeks. Involved about 10,000 people.
1918
Irish General Strike against Conscription
Ireland
United Kingdom
1918
Swiss general strike of 1918
Nationwide
Switzerland
1918
Vancouver general strike
Vancouver , British Columbia
Canada
General strike caused by the arrest of Albert "Ginger" Goodwin , discontent over high living costs and low wages during World War I , and the October Revolution ; ended with police attacks on union offices
1919
La Canadenca strike
Catalonia
Spain
1919
Basel and Zürich general strike of 1919
Basel and Zürich
Switzerland
1919
Seattle General Strike
Seattle , Washington
United States
Industrial Workers of the World strike caused when the Emergency Fleet Corporation denied shipbuilders ' demands for higher wages and intended to start a socialist revolution; contributed to the First Red Scare
1919
Winnipeg general strike
Winnipeg , Manitoba
Canada
General strike ending with repression by the North-West Mounted Police but leading to the growth of the Canadian democratic socialist and labor movements .
1920
Berlin general strike
Berlin
Germany
General strike encouraged by the government to resist an attempted overthrow of the Weimar Republic
1920
Ruhr uprising
Ruhr
Germany
General strike in support of the Social Democratic government before expanding into a mass labor uprising to establish a "dictatorship of the proletariat "; suppressed by the Freikorps and the Reichswehr
1920
Romanian general strike of 1920
Nationwide
Romania
1922
Italian general strike of 1922
Nationwide
Italy
Unsuccessful general strike intended to prevent a seizure of power by Benito Mussolini 's National Fascist Party
1922
Guayaquil general strike
Guayaquil
Ecuador
1926
United Kingdom general strike of 1926
Nationwide
United Kingdom
10-day general strike by the General Council of the Trades Union Congress to prevent wage reductions and worsened conditions for coal miners ; ended without concessions or violence.
1926
Sierra Leone railway strike of 1926
Nationwide
Sierra Leone
1932
Geneva general strike of 1932
Geneva
Switzerland
1933
1933 Cuban general strike
Nationwide, initially in Havana
Cuba
The strike would originally begin as a strike for bus drivers in Havana and would later grow to other sectors and spread throughout the country. The strike led to the resignation of President Gerardo Machado .[ 50]
1933
1933 Ecuadorian general strike [ 51]
Quito , Riobamba
Ecuador
1933
French general strike of 1933
Nationwide
France
1934
Portuguese general strike of 1934
Nationwide
Portugal
1934
West Coast waterfront strike of 1934
California , Oregon and Washington
United States
83-day general strike in support of the International Longshoremen's Association during the Great Depression ; the success of the strike contributed to the growth of industrial unionism under the Congress of Industrial Organizations .
1934
Minneapolis general strike of 1934
Minneapolis , Minnesota
United States
1934
Auto-Lite strike
Toledo, Ohio
United States
1936
French general strike of 1936
Nationwide
France
1936
Spanish Revolution of 1936
Nationwide
Spain
1936
1936 Syrian general strike
Nationwide
Syria
1936
Palestinian general strike
Nationwide
Mandatory Palestine
General strike coordinated by the Arab Higher Committee against Jewish settlement in Palestine ; eventually led to the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine .
1938
French general strike of 1938
Nationwide
France
1941
February strike
Nationwide
Netherlands
1942
Luxembourgish general strike of 1942
Nationwide
Luxembourg
Campaign of passive resistance against the Nazi occupation during World War II .
1945
Nigerian general strike of 1945
Nationwide
Nigeria
1946
Royal Indian Navy mutiny
Nationwide
India
1946
Oakland general strike of 1946
Oakland, California
United States
Part of the 1945-46 strike wave in the United States during the U.S. demobilization after World War II and the abolition of National War Labor Board restrictions, which contributed to the passage of the Taft–Hartley Act restricting union activities and strike actions.
1950
Austrian general strikes of 1950
Nationwide
Austria
1950
Belgian general strike of 1950
Nationwide
Belgium
Originated over opposition to King Leopold III of Belgium being returned to throne after his refusal to leave Belgium with the government-in-exile during the Nazi occupation ; ended with his agreement to abdicate and allow his son Baudouin to take the throne
1950
Nairobi general strike of 1950
Nairobi
Kenya
1950
Positive Action campaign
Nationwide
Gold Coast
1952
Casablanca Uprisings of 1952
Casablanca
Morocco
1953
Ceylonese Hartal of 1953
Nationwide
Ceylon
1953
Uprising of 1953
Nationwide
East Germany
Originated as strike by East Berlin construction workers against Sovietization work quotas before expanding to a broad revolt against the Soviet -sponsored Socialist Unity Party 's rule; repressed by the Soviet Army and the Kasernierte Volkspolizei
1954
General strike of 1954
Nationwide
Honduras
1956
Finnish general strike of 1956
Nationwide
Finland
Successful Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions general strike for higher wages
1960–61
Belgian general strike of 1960–61
Wallonia
Belgium
General Labour Federation of Belgium general strike against Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens 's austerity policies, especially the Unitary Law ; contributed to the growth of the Walloon Movement
1966
1966 Burkina Faso general strike
Nationwide
Burkina Faso
1968
French general strike of May 1968
Nationwide
France
Student protests which escalated into a nationwide general strike which halted the French economy and continued with wildcat strikes after the Grenelle agreements granted higher wages, leading to fears of a revolution against Charles de Gaulle ; ended with Gaullist counter-demonstrations and a vote of confidence from the National Assembly .
1971-72
Namibian contract workers general strike
Nationwide
Namibia
A general strike by workers under the contract labor system of what was then known as South West Africa (now Namibia ) under the control of apartheid South Africa. The goal was to end the contract labor system due to slave like conditions and promote Namibian independence. It led to SWANLA being abolished & replaced with a less punitive but still repressive contract labor system. It also fueled the war for independence .
1972
Québec general strike of 1972 [ 52]
Québec
Canada
1973
Uruguay general strike of 1973
Nationwide
Uruguay
Unsuccessful general strike against the 1973 Uruguayan coup d'état , leading the civic-military dictatorship to ban trade unions.
1974
Ulster Workers' Council strike
Northern Ireland
United Kingdom
Successful Ulster loyalist general strike against the Sunningdale Agreement between Great Britain and Ireland , which would have attempted to resolve the Northern Ireland conflict by establishing a power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive and revived Council of Ireland
1975
Icelandic women's strike of 1975
Nationwide
Iceland
1976
Canadian general strike of 1976 [ 53] [ 54]
Nationwide
Canada
1976
March 24 strike
Nationwide
People's Republic of the Congo
1978
Iranian Revolution
Nationwide
Iran
1979
1979 New Zealand general strike
Nationwide
New Zealand
The Federation of Labour holds a 24-hour general strike held to protest the Third National Government 's intervention in the general drivers' award .[ 55] [ 56]
1984
Uruguayan general strikes of 1984
Nationwide
Uruguay
Successfully ended the Uruguayan dictatorships by forcing free elections to occur under the threat of continued rolling 24 hour general strikes if not allowed.[ 57]
1988
Spanish general strike of 1988
Nationwide
Spain
Workers' Commissions and Unión General de Trabajadores strike against the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party 's policies under Prime Minister Felipe González
1989
Velvet Revolution
Nationwide
Czechoslovakia
1990
1990 Moroccan general strike [ 58]
Nationwide
Morocco
1992
April 1992 general strike in Nepal
Nationwide
Nepal
1995
French general strikes of 1995
Nationwide
France
1998
1998 Danish general strike [ 59]
Copenhagen
Denmark
1998
1998 Puerto Rican general strike
Nationwide
United States ( Puerto Rico )
41-day general strike against the privatization of the Puerto Rico Telephone Company , accompanied by some violence and sabotage.
2000
Cochabamba Water War
Cochabamba
Bolivia
2002–2003
Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003
Nationwide
Venezuela
General strike against President Hugo Chávez including a large contingent of PDVSA workers.
2003
Bolivian gas conflict
Nationwide
Bolivia
2006
Nepalese Revolution
Nationwide
Nepal
2007
2007 Guinea general strike
Nationwide
Guinea
Successful general strike forcing President Lansana Conté to resign.
2007
2007 South African public servants' strike
Nationwide
South Africa
2007
2007 Swazi general strike
Nationwide
Eswatini
2008
2008 Egyptian general strike
Nationwide
Egypt
General strike including large contingent of textile workers during the 2007–2008 world food price crisis
2009
2009 French Caribbean general strikes
Guadeloupe
France
2011
2011 Oakland general strike
Oakland, California
United States
Part of the Occupy Oakland demonstrations
2012
2012 European general strike
Cyprus , Malta , Portugal , Italy , Spain , France , Greece , Belgium
European Union
2016
Indian general strike of 2016
Nationwide
India
24-hour general strike against Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's economic policies
2017
2017 Brazilian general strike
Nationwide
Brazil
General strike against President Michel Temer 's labor reform policies during the Brazilian economic crisis .
2017
2017 Catalan general strike
Catalonia
Spain
General strike in support of the Catalan independence movement , accompanied by police repression by the Spanish government.
2018
2018 Jordanian general strike
Nationwide
Jordan
Anti-austerity general strike
2018–2019
2018–2019 Iranian general strikes and protests
Nationwide
Iran
2018–present
School strike for climate
Global
Various
International movement of students skipping classes to support renewable energy and climate change mitigation
2019
2019 Catalan general strike
Catalonia
Spain
2019
2019 Hong Kong general strike
Nationwide
Hong Kong
2019
2019 Indian General Strike [ 60]
Nationwide
India
2019
Sudanese Revolution
Nationwide
Sudan
2020
2020–2021 Belarusian protests
Nationwide
Belarus
2020
2020 United States essential workers general strike
Nationwide
United States
General strike involving essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
2020
Strike for Black Lives
Nationwide
United States
Mass walkout in support of the George Floyd protests
2020
2020 Indian general strike
Nationwide
India
Preceded the 2020–2021 Indian farmers' protest
2021
2021 Greek general strike
Nationwide
Greece
24-hour general strike against a bill in the Hellenic Parliament that would give employers more power in regards to their employees.[ 61]
2021
2021 Myanmar strikes
Nationwide
Myanmar
2021
Striketober
Nationwide
United States
2022
2022 Iranian general strike
Nationwide
Iran
3 day general strike in response to protestors killed by Iranian security forces.[ 62]
2022
2022 Kazakh unrest
Nationwide
Kazakhstan
2024
2024 Nigerian general strike
Nationwide
Nigeria
General strike due to low minimum wage.[ 63]