What changes on 11 November for visitors and residents?
Reports give no start or end time for the 24-hour strike on Wednesday 11 November. No minimum services for the Titsa and Guaguas Municipales buses in the Canary Islands have turned up in research.
Aena, the airport operator, had published no strike notices by Monday, and nothing is known about ferries either. CCOO and UGT asked the Transport Ministry to negotiate minimum services, but no result is known.
Catalonia has set a 25% minimum service on public transport for 11 November, but that figure does not apply to the Canary Islands. Its government fixed the service for peak hours, from 06:30 to 09:30 and from 16:30 to 21:00.
If you fly, take a bus or have booked a transfer on 11 November, ask your airline, Aena or bus operator beforehand. Nothing in the available information is specific to the south of the islands.
Who is calling the strike, and what do they demand?
The Sindicato de Inquilinas (tenants' union) started the strike but cannot legally call it itself. UGT and CCOO therefore carry the call formally, says spokesperson Valeria Racu.
The organisers want wages that cover rent or a mortgage, rent caps in tight markets and more public housing. They also want limits on tourist and seasonal lets, and CCOO uses the slogan “We work to live, not to pay”.
The CGT, CNT, Solidaridad Obrera and Co.Bas unions also back the strike, while the CSIF union stays out. The employers' associations CEOE and Cepyme say housing is mainly a matter for the public administrations.
Why is this strike so unusual?
Spain is meant to see its first general strike in 14 years, since 2012. This one is not about a collective agreement or a dismissal reform, but about access to housing and the cost of rent.
Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz urged people to take part. Opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo called for it to be cancelled: “General strikes are not called against those who do not govern”.
How expensive is renting in the Canary Islands?
Rent in the Canary Islands averages €1,211 a month, up 8.81% since the end of 2025, says the third-quarter 2026 rental barometer. The barometer comes from the Observatorio del Alquiler and the Fundación Alquiler Seguro, and the national average is €1,214.
In the province of Las Palmas, a flat costs €1,183 on average, up 4.23% since the end of 2025. In the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife it is €1,240, up 13.76%.
Manuel Navarro, general secretary of UGT Canarias, says new homes cost more than 200,000 to 250,000 euros. Daniel Casal of the Federación Sindical Canaria calls Canary wages Spain's lowest, about 500 euros below the national average, but these are not official figures.
What funding and rules apply to housing in the Canary Islands?
The Canary Islands get 371 million euros from the national housing plan for 2026 to 2030, out of 7,000 million euros in total. The state pays 60% and the regions 40%, the sector conference chaired by Minister Isabel Rodríguez agreed unanimously.
The Canary holiday-rental law, passed by the regional parliament on 12 November 2025, requires at least 90% residential use in planning. On La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro the limit is 80%, and existing holiday lets get a five-year transition period.
What happens after 11 November?
Congress rejected two government housing decrees on 2 October 2026, and Sánchez then called a new election for 29 November. Reports say the decrees covered an eviction freeze for vulnerable tenants until 2030, lease extensions until 2029 and tax benefits for landlords charging affordable rents.
The campaign runs from 13 to 27 November, and voters go to the polls on 29 November. Parliament is dissolved, so the Diputación Permanente (the standing committee between sessions) must confirm any new decrees, whose revised content is not confirmed.
There are no figures yet on turnout in the Canary Islands, and march locations and times are unpublished. Daniel Casal of the Federación Sindical Canaria does not rule out a later general strike of its own for the islands.