Gran Canaria doctors' strike extended to 10 November

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

If you have an appointment in the public system, ask your health centre beforehand whether it will go ahead. The doctors' strike goes on, and Gran Canaria is hit harder than any other island, though there are no separate figures for the south and its holiday resorts.

On 27 October, the unions extended the strike call to 10 November. We also found no official list of minimum services, no helpline and no rules on rebooking appointments.

Earlier strike phases up to June 2026 led to 57,000 cancelled appointments and almost 1,500 suspended operations, according to reports. No such figures exist for the current strike.

How many doctors are on strike on Gran Canaria?

On Gran Canaria, 270 of 1,481 doctors covered downed tools on 19 October, or 18.23%. That is the highest rate of any island, ahead of Tenerife at 4.65% and Lanzarote at 3.6%.

La Palma reached 2.41% and Fuerteventura 0.67%. Nobody struck on La Gomera or El Hierro.

Across the islands, 9.34% of the doctors covered went on strike on Monday 19 October, according to the health service. That was 363 of 3,888 doctors, out of 7,330 called out.

The unions put turnout at around 58% and call the minimum services abusive. That union figure could not be checked.

On 23 October, 8.17% struck across the islands, or 318 of 3,892 doctors, according to published figures. On Gran Canaria it was 229 of 1,538, or 14.89%, while 1,239 of 7,279 doctors on the plantilla (permanent staff) worked minimum cover.

What are the doctors demanding?

The unions put their demand at 150 million euros. The health service offered 50 million euros, including a 14-point plan and a rise of around 47% in on-call pay.

The Sindicato Médico Canario (CESM) and the Sindicato de Empleados Médicos de Canarias (SEMCA) have tabled a strategic plan with 18 measures. It covers pay, rest periods and how doctors are represented in dealings with the administration.

The unions want shorter on-call shifts of 12 hours instead of 24. They also want days off after night shifts and on-call hours that count towards pensions.

Junior resident doctors work up to seven 24-hour shifts a month, according to the unions. They say they speak for up to 8,000 doctors in the health service.

The health service says it cannot pay for everything in one budget year and proposes a three-year plan for 2027, 2028 and 2029. The unions admit there has been progress, but speak of a series of proposals rather than an agreement in principle.

How did the dispute begin?

According to the unions, the dispute has dragged on for around 18 months, with partial strikes. Formal talks began in July 2026 and ran through August and September.

The Canary Islands strike is separate from a second dispute, the national row over the Estatuto Marco (framework statute for health staff). That statute is meant to replace the 2003 one, covers almost a million employees and sits in parliament in Madrid.

The national doctors' unions want their own statute, with a maximum working week of 35 hours and shifts of 17 hours instead of 24. The health ministry under Mónica García says a separate statute is possible only on the basis of a shared one.

Pay and the strategic plan, by contrast, are decided by the Canary Islands government through the Consejería de Sanidad (the regional health department) and the SCS. So this dispute will be settled on the islands, not in Madrid.

As early as 2023, the CESM called an open-ended strike from 19 May. Seven per cent took part then, 406 of about 5,500 doctors, and the strike was suspended.

What happens next?

Around 300 doctors and relatives marched along Avenida Mesa y López in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on 27 October. Éric Álvarez, president of CESM Canarias, spoke of “absolute silence” from the Consejería.

Coordinators and strike committees planned to meet on 30 October. The outcome of that meeting is not known.

SEMCA president Javier Luño said on 27 October that the health service had set no talks. The unions reject Adasat Goya as their counterpart and ask regional president Fernando Clavijo to step in.

The unions do not rule out suspending the strike days if a deal is reached. Nobody has yet published the content of the latest offer, the cost of the demands or who would pay for them.

For now, the only reliable fact is the strike call to 10 November. New turnout figures and a date for talks are the next clues to watch for patients.