What does the strike mean for visitors and residents on Gran Canaria?

The Canary Islands health department (Consejería de Sanidad) put 1,310 staff on minimum services on the morning of 6 November. It reported no significant incidents.

Gran Canaria carries the strike almost alone: 164 of the 231 strikers work there. That is 11.75% of the island’s 1,396 affected doctors, so nearly nine in ten did not strike.

The department has not said which health centres or hospitals in the south of the island are affected. We also found no guidance aimed at tourists or foreign residents.

If you have a doctor’s appointment, ask your Centro de Salud (health centre) or hospital beforehand. They can tell you whether it goes ahead, as no cancellation figures exist for the current strike.

How many doctors are striking on each island?

In total, 231 of 4,039 affected doctors struck, or 5.72%, according to the health department. The rate is the same in primary care and in hospitals.

As many as 7,387 staff were called out, but the department counts only 4,039 as affected. It does not explain why it draws the group so narrowly.

On Tenerife, 55 of 1,991 affected doctors struck (2.76%), and on Lanzarote 6 of 228 (2.63%). Both islands trail far behind Gran Canaria.

On La Palma it was 4 of 165 (2.42%) and on Fuerteventura 2 of 299 (0.67%). No doctor on El Hierro or La Gomera walked out.

By the numbers, 164 of the 231 strikers, or 71%, come from Gran Canaria. The strike is therefore mostly an issue on the island with the capital, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

How has turnout changed since the strike began?

The open-ended strike began on 16 October 2026. On 19 October, 363 of 3,888 affected doctors struck (9.34%), including 270 of 1,481 on Gran Canaria (18.23%).

On 23 October the figures were 318 of 3,892 (8.17%), and 229 of 1,538 on Gran Canaria (14.89%). That day, doctors gathered outside the Hospital Universitario de Gran Canaria Doctor Negrín in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

On 6 November the rates were 5.72% overall and 11.75% on Gran Canaria. Turnout fell on each of the three days compared.

Minimum services varied slightly: 1,392 staff on 19 October, 1,239 on 23 October and 1,310 on 6 November. All figures cover the morning only.

The unions give no figures of their own for these days, or at least we found none. In earlier strikes their numbers ran far above the department’s, in March around 53% against around 13%.

What is the strike about and who is negotiating?

The Sindicato Médico Canario (CESM Canarias) and the Sindicato de Empleados Médicos de Canarias (SEMCA) called the strike on 7 October. They say the health department has not answered their 18 goals.

Doctors want better pay, above all for on-call shifts (guardias), and rest time after them. They also want a separate bargaining framework for senior doctors and working conditions that stop staff leaving the public system.

The Canary Islands health service (Servicio Canario de la Salud, SCS) offers a 14-point package on pay and career path. It includes an on-call rate about 47% higher.

Health councillor Esther Monzón puts the unions’ demands at around 150 million euros and the SCS offer at around 50 million euros. She says that sum cannot be raised.

The UGT union signed a preliminary agreement (preacuerdo) with the department at the end of September. CESM and SEMCA rejected it.

Is the strike linked to the dispute over the framework statute?

The Canary Islands strike targets the SCS and is a conflict in its own right. Alongside it, a nationwide row continues over the Estatuto Marco, the framework statute for public health staff.

Doctors’ unions reject the draft and demand a separate doctors’ statute and a 35-hour maximum working week. Health minister Mónica García says a separate statute is only possible on the basis of the common one.

SEMCA says the doctors’ statute falls to the ministry. Twelve further goals, it says, are the responsibility of the Canary Islands government.

What happens after 6 November?

It is not confirmed whether the strike continues beyond 6 November, or on which days. No end date has been given.

A new meeting of the parties was planned after 23 October, but reports gave no date. We could not establish the current state of the talks.

Union leader Eric Álvarez said waiting lists “could get worse because of the strike”. No figures on cancelled appointments in the current strike exist.

Regional elections are due in May 2027, and Fernando Clavijo currently leads the Canary Islands government. Whether that speeds up the talks is open.