What does the 11 November strike mean for visitors and residents?
On Wednesday 11 November 2026, CCOO and UGT have called a 24-hour general strike. It covers all of Spain, and several unions in the Canaries back the action.
No binding details exist yet on minimum services, buses (guaguas), closures or cancellations in the islands. Whether the strike will noticeably hit the resorts in the south is not documented.
If you need to fly, take a bus or visit a public office on 11 November, check first with the airline, bus operator or authority. You can also ask the unions, though nothing is confirmed there yet.
No notice from the ULPGC about lectures or exams on 11 November could be found. Whether students can stay away without penalty is open.
What do the strike committees accuse the ULPGC of?
On 5 November 2026 the “committees organising the 11 November strike” issued a statement. They criticise the “silence” of the ULPGC on Gran Canaria and of the student council, the Consejo de Estudiantes (CEST).
The university has not informed people properly about the strike, the committees say. Formal requests and signature lists for an academic strike (paro académico), sent to the rector’s office (Rectorado), went unanswered, they say.
The CEST rejects the strike without publicly explaining why, the committees add. The report contains no response from the ULPGC, the CEST or the unions, and it does not say whether they were asked.
From the Rectorado and the vice-rectorate for students, the committees want answers to their requests, plus information and participation in the paro. They ask the CEST for an explanation and the unions for more commitment to teaching staff.
Why do the committees call housing an education problem?
Housing decides who can study, who can commute to work and who can stay on their island, the committees argue. Their line reads: “Housing is also an education problem”.
Students have demanded better halls of residence for years, the statement says. Teaching staff are affected too, especially those who travel between islands or from other regions to reach their posts.
The strike is organised from the bottom up at the university, the committees say, with students, vocational pupils and teachers from public universities and institutes. The statement does not say who is behind the committees, how many people take part or how many signatures they have gathered.
What is the general strike in the Canaries about?
CCOO and UGT demand higher pay, rent caps in tense housing zones (zonas tensionadas) and more public housing. They also want limits on holiday and seasonal lets, and the Confederación de Sindicatos de Inquilinas proposed the date.
Manuel Navarro, general secretary of UGT Canarias, says the islands have “the lowest wages in the whole country”. Daniel Casal of the Federación Sindical Canaria (FSC) puts the gap to the national average at around 500 euros, and both figures come from the unions.
The unions also cite 211,000 empty homes and 15% of homes used for tourism. These figures have not been checked.
The employers’ body CEOE rejected the strike on 6 October. Cepyme president Ángela de Miguel places the responsibility with public bodies, while the Spanish government said it respects the right to strike.
How expensive is housing in the Canaries, and what comes next?
The Barómetro del Alquiler (rent barometer) from the Fundación Alquiler Seguro puts the average rent in the Canaries at 1,211 euros a month in the third quarter of 2026. That is 8.81% more than at the end of 2025, while Spain as a whole stands at 1,214 euros.
In the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which includes Tenerife, the average is 1,240 euros. Its 13.76% rise since the end of 2025 is the steepest in the archipelago.
The province of Las Palmas stands at 1,183 euros, with a 4.23% rise. The supply of rental homes has fallen by 40% since 2021, according to the Observatorio del Alquiler.
Prices and places in ULPGC halls of residence are not documented. At La Laguna University on Tenerife, the Consejo Social sets the Parque de las Islas hall at 288.77 euros a month for 2026/27.
IGIC (the Canarian consumption tax) comes on top, and an income discount cuts the price to 200.67 or 129.48 euros. General elections are due on 29 November 2026, shortly after the strike.
The unions say the strike has nothing to do with the election date. Further action in the islands could depend on the response to the strike, but that is not confirmed.