What changes on 11 November for visitors and residents?

On Wednesday 11 November, much will stand still for 24 hours, from transport to public services and flights. How strongly Fuerteventura will feel it has not been confirmed.

For essential services the responsible authority sets minimum services, a core staff that keeps working despite a strike. For buses, airports, health care and ferries, our research found no such order so far.

One report says the island's bus operator has published the lines affected. We could not confirm that, and we do not know which lines it means.

Anyone who needs to fly, take a ferry or catch a bus on 11 November should ask the airline, ferry company or bus operator beforehand. Whether the Cabildo (island government) or a town hall has issued a notice is not known.

The sources say nothing specific about individual places, such as the southern resorts. We also found no times or routes for rallies on Fuerteventura.

Who has called the strike, and what do the unions demand?

The unions registered the strike with the Labour Ministry on 19 October 2026. Behind it stand CCOO, UGT, CGT, CNT, Intersindical, CO.BAS, the Unión de Actores y Actrices and the Confederación de Sindicatos de Inquilinas (tenants' unions).

They want a different housing policy and pay rises of 4 to 7% in collective agreements. For the minimum wage (SMI) they ask for a rise of at least 7%.

The organisations say housing costs should not exceed 33% of income. They also demand measures against speculation.

Spanish media describe the stoppage as the first general strike in 14 years. CCOO and UGT are calling one for the first time since 2012.

What does CCOO say on Fuerteventura, and when is the meeting?

On Thursday 5 November at 11:00, CCOO invites the public to the Archivo Insular in Puerto del Rosario. The announcement does not say whether entry costs anything or whether you need to register.

On the platform will be Ignacio Hernández, secretary for union action at CCOO Canarias, and Gabriel Alberto Rodríguez, general secretary of CCOO Fuerteventura. They want to explain to delegates, members and workers why the strike is happening.

CCOO names the housing shortage, low pay and blocked collective bargaining as the main reasons. Rising prices for food, rent and fuel add to them.

The communiqué says: “You cannot speak of economic growth while working people cannot afford to live.” The union also lists decent pensions and good public services as goals.

CCOO says the meeting is one of several actions before the strike, meant to mobilise as many people as possible across the island. How many will come is unknown.

Why is the Canary Islands striking, and which figures do the unions cite?

On 22 October, Vanesa Frahija, general secretary of CCOO Canarias, and Manuel Navarro, general secretary of UGT Canarias, called for massive participation. They demand decent housing, better pay, and public health care and education.

By their account, the Canaries pay the lowest wages in Spain. The two unions count 211,000 empty homes in the archipelago and say 20% of them could become rental housing.

Reports on the strike call put pay about 500 euros below the Spanish average. Economic growth is 2.85%, they say, yet the archipelago comes last for income per head.

Social housing makes up only 1% of the stock, the lowest share in Spain, according to these figures. Holiday lets take up 15% of homes.

CCOO points to tourism, alongside which the gap between pay and the cost of living is growing. Rents are also among the highest in Spain, it says.

What rights do workers have if they join the strike?

The right to strike rests on Real Decreto-Ley 17/1977. According to a report on the October 2025 stoppage, workers do not have to give notice of their own participation.

Those who join lose a day's pay, because the strike day is unpaid. Under the same report, employers may neither punish nor replace strikers.

Minimum services are a point of dispute. The unions oppose “excessive minimum services”, as Frahija and Navarro said on 22 October.

The authority responsible for each service decides on them. Our research could not confirm any order for the Canary Islands.

What happens after 11 November?

On 29 November, Spain holds general elections (Cortes Generales), including in the Canary Islands. The organisers call the strike a labour matter but admit it has a political side.

Navarro warned that the situation could worsen after the elections. The unions link the strike to the opposition's resistance in parliament to the government's housing decrees.

According to reports, FSC and Intersindical are considering a later strike for the archipelago alone. No date has been set.

No forecast exists for turnout. Nobody can say yet how many people will take to the streets on 11 November.