What changes for visitors and residents on Tenerife?
No new strike day has been announced for the Canary Islands, according to the report on the unions' plans of 13 November. Anyone travelling, working or seeing a doctor in the coming weeks will meet no announced strike.
The general strike on Wednesday 11 November 2026 lasted exactly 24 hours, from midnight to midnight. Airports stayed open, but airlines could cancel flights, the advance reports said.
The sources name no particular effects for the south of Tenerife either. One demonstration was counted, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The next turning point is the early parliamentary election on 29 November 2026. Anyone planning flights or appointments should check with the provider as usual for any announcement.
How many people took part on 11 November?
UGT puts turnout at 56%, while CCOO gives 42 to 75% depending on the sector. The employers' association CCE (Confederación Canaria de Empresarios) says barely 1%.
For Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the report gives 10,000 demonstrators, while the unions say 20,000 to 30,000. The Sindicato de Inquilinas de Tenerife (tenants' union) counts more than 50,000.
In Las Palmas de Gran Canaria the report gives 5,000, against about 12,000 according to CCOO and 47,000 according to UGT. The report does not say who produced the lower figures of 10,000 and 5,000.
At the general strike of 14 November 2012, the Government Delegation counted 30,000 people in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and 20,000 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Neither the Government Delegation nor the Canary Islands labour department had published an official turnout figure for 2026, as far as our research found.
What about the storm and the minimum services?
Storm Charles triggered wind alerts for the archipelago on 10 and 11 November. The highest warning level applied on Tenerife's peaks and on La Palma, with gusts of up to 140 kilometres per hour.
Because of the storm, the rallies on La Palma and La Gomera were cancelled. On Tenerife, by contrast, the demonstration in Santa Cruz de Tenerife was counted.
Ignacio Hernández, CCOO's Secretario de Acción Sindical (secretary for union action), called the minimum services (the legally required minimum operation) in some sectors “abusive”. Some were corrected before the strike, while others are before the administrative courts.
Our research did not find the wording of the minimum services in the BOC (the Canary Islands' official gazette). The sources we read do not say who set them either.
Why did UGT and CCOO go on strike?
It was the first general strike involving UGT and CCOO since November 2012, after 14 years. Back then it targeted the Rajoy government's labour market reform.
According to the advance reports, the trigger was Congress rejecting two housing decrees on 2 October 2026. The Council of Ministers had approved them on 30 September, and they provided for, among other things, a 2% cap on rent rises and VAT on holiday lets.
Nationally, the unions demand pay rises of 4 to 7% and rent caps. They also want permanently protected public housing and effective enforcement of the housing law.
In the Canary Islands, union representatives cite 211,000 empty homes and a social housing share of about 1%, without independent verification. Daniel Casal, general secretary of the Federación Sindical Canaria, puts the pay gap with the Spanish average at around 500 euros.
What do the unions plan next?
UGT will put its demands to the parties until the election on 29 November. Once a government is formed, it will assess the response and, if there is no progress, propose a new mobilisation calendar.
Héctor Fajardo, UGT's Vicesecretario general de Organización y Comunicación (deputy general secretary for organisation and communication), wants to proceed “without ruling anything out, not even a new strike”. The union also names sector strikes as a possibility.
CCOO is betting on closer alliances with housing and youth movements. The Sindicato de Inquilinas de Tenerife wants to continue neighbourhood work, assemblies and action against evictions.
The Derecho al Techo movement from Gran Canaria is taking a short break and will then carry on in neighbourhoods and networks. Casal of the Federación Sindical Canaria did not rule out a regional general strike before the 11 November action, but that is not confirmed.
What is still unclear after 11N?
Still open are an official turnout figure, the wording of the minimum services and possible cancellations of flights and ferries on 11 November. No date for further action has been named either.
The election on 29 November 2026 is seen as the next turning point, followed by the formation of a government. Only then will UGT decide whether a new mobilisation calendar is needed.