What changes for parents on Tenerife on 11 November?

The Consejería de Educación (the Canarian government’s education department) has ordered all state schools, except universities, to open on 11 November. It has not cancelled lessons across the islands.

The order aims mainly to stop children being left unsupervised. It expressly does not promise a normal school day.

Whether lessons take place depends on how many teachers strike and who is available at each school. Teachers do not have to say in advance whether they will join, so many schools will only know on the day who has turned up.

Parents may still bring their children. They should expect some activities to run differently from the plan.

Which school services could be cancelled?

The CEIP San Benito in La Laguna on Tenerife says its usual routine may change, depending on how many staff take part. No further details for Tenerife are available, so schools on the island set their own rules.

No general canteen shutdown has been reported. Some schools on Gran Canaria report cancellations because caterers or staff are missing, among them the CEIP Policarpo Báez in Las Palmas.

It is not certain that school buses will run on 11 November. One report speaks of 100% service, but it relies on an order whose text has not been published.

How many teachers must be in school at minimum?

Primary schools, rural school groupings (CRA) and attached classes with up to 8 groups need one head or manager and one teacher. Above 8 groups, schools add one teacher for every 8 groups.

Secondary schools and specialist centres must provide one head or manager and one teacher for every 10 groups. Language schools and conservatoires need one representative of the school management.

Boarding schools must have 25% of their teachers present, and special-needs centres 50%. For non-teaching staff, a third of the care workers is enough in certain mainstream and special-needs centres.

That also applies to mainstream schools with groups for children aged from nought to three. Special residential centres need 50%, with a canteen for the residents and one care worker.

School heads name the people affected individually. Nobody else decides who staffs the school.

What applies to visitors, buses and flights?

The strike lasts 24 hours and covers all of Spain, including the Canary Islands. CCOO and UGT have called it, along with CGT, CNT and other groups, and the demands are about wages, housing and prices.

The airport operator Aena had filed no strike notice by 2 November. The Transport Ministry had set no minimum services by then, so visitors should ask their airline directly and not cancel on their own.

In the 2012 general strike, the minimum service was 50% of flights between the mainland and the islands, and between the islands. About 700 flights were cancelled then.

An EU compensation payment of 250 to 600 euros does not apply in unavoidable circumstances, news.at reports. The source does not say whether strikes count as such.

No minimum services had been published by 9 November for Titsa’s buses (guaguas) or the Tenerife tram. Hospitals keep emergency care, intensive care and urgent treatment running, but appointments and non-urgent operations may be delayed. The number to call for information is 012.

Where will people demonstrate, and what happens next?

In Santa Cruz de Tenerife the march starts at 17:30 at the Plaza Weyler and ends in front of the Presidencia del Gobierno de Canarias. Further rallies are planned in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Santa Cruz de La Palma, Arrecife, Puerto del Rosario, El Hierro and San Sebastián de La Gomera.

The sources disagree on the start. One gives 0.00 to 24.00 on 11 November, another puts the start in the night before Wednesday. Shift workers may begin with the first shift, even on the evening of 10 November, and finish after midnight.

Strikers lose their pay for the time, including special payments, and no social security contributions are paid for that day. Employers may not replace strikers.

The strike falls a good two weeks before the parliamentary election on 29 November, and the campaign runs from 13 to 27 November. No date is known for another strike.