What does the 11 November strike mean for visitors?
The general strike covers all of Spain, including the Canary Islands, and runs from 00:00 to 24:00 on Wednesday 11 November 2026. Firms that work in shifts can strike from the start of the first shift to the end of the last.
Travellers on 11 November should check first with their airline, ferry company or bus operator. By Friday, nobody had confirmed details on flights, ferries or buses (guaguas) on La Palma.
Emergency admissions and basic GP care must stay covered, while security and maintenance are limited to the essentials. The final minimum services were still open on 4 November.
La Palma has two protests planned. A rally (concentración) starts at 11:00 on the Plaza de España in Los Llanos de Aridane, and a joint march sets off at 17:30 from the Plaza Alameda in Santa Cruz de La Palma.
The group named no other dates on La Palma and no expected turnout. Whether roads will be closed is not known.
Who is Derecho a un Techo and what does it demand?
The housing assembly “Derecho a un Techo de La Palma” wants to back the general strike on 11 November. It names three aims: affordable housing, better wages and stronger public services.
By its own account, the group brings together people from various professions and students. It says the Canaries have “more than enough reasons” to strike.
Its reasons are the housing emergency, one of Spain’s lowest average wages and a high rate of privatisation in public services. Its demands are specific: cap rents, bring empty homes back into use, and protect housing from holiday letting and speculation.
It also wants lasting investment in public housing. You can follow the group on social media as “Derecho a un Techo La Palma”.
The group has not published a programme beyond the two events. Nor has it said how it relates to the group of the same name on Gran Canaria.
Who is behind the general strike in the Canaries?
In the Canaries, the unions CCOO, UGT, CGT and CNT back the strike. According to sources close to the unions, it is the first strike in 14 years backed by the major unions.
The last general strike was in 2012, against the then government’s labour reform. Manuel Navarro, general secretary of UGT Canarias, and Ignacio Hernández of CCOO call it a labour strike with a political side.
Both reject the term “political strike” and do not want excessive minimum services. Vanesa Frahija, general secretary of CCOO Canarias, and Navarro urged mass participation on 22 October.
The major unions planned to register the strike with the Dirección General de Trabajo (labour authority) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Who has formally registered it is not confirmed.
Daniel Casal of the Federación Sindical Canaria said a general strike for the Canaries alone could follow after 11 November. There is no date for it, and according to the reports it depends on turnout.
Why is housing at the centre of the protest on La Palma?
According to activists, 25% of homes on La Palma stand empty, while public housing makes up about 2.5%. They compare this with 34% in the Netherlands and 24% in Austria, and no public list of empty homes exists.
In tight housing areas, up to 52% of income goes on housing, these organisers say. The figures could not yet be checked against data from the Canaries statistics office ISTAC or Spain’s national statistics office INE.
According to INE, the 2021 Spanish census counted around 211,000 empty homes across the Canaries. The unions say that putting a fifth of them on the rental market would solve the problem.
On 26 June, residents marched in Los Llanos de Aridane under the slogan “La vivienda nos cuesta la vida” (housing is costing us our lives). The report on that march does not mention the group “Derecho a un Techo”.
After the volcanic eruption, the Canarian government is preparing 53 purchased homes in Los Llanos for people affected. It cites 56.5 million euros of investment in protected housing, with 34 social homes being built in Tazacorte and 100 more awaiting approval.
Cabildo (island council) president Sergio Rodríguez demanded on 22 May that holiday-rental licences already issued stay valid without a time limit. According to the report, the regional government’s draft would give new permits an expiry date of 2030.
What applies to strikers, and what is still open?
Employees do not have to notify their employer beforehand. The right to strike is set out in Article 28.2 of the Spanish Constitution and Article 6.1 of decree RDL 17/1977.
A striker keeps the job: the employment contract is suspended that day, not ended. Pay is cut proportionally, including the share of extra payments, and no social security contributions are paid.
The final minimum services and the number of employees actually registered are still open. There are also no confirmed details on the effects on transport and health services on La Palma.
According to the reports, some production and supply firms are to stop work on 10 November. The two events on La Palma follow on 11 November, and the election on 29 November.