Airlines and travel agency networks selling Canary Islands vacations during Easter on the Iberian Peninsula have called on the Canary Islands government to comment on the general tourism strike for Easter, as tourists are constantly asking for information on whether or not they will have to cancel their vacations.
Some 170.000 tourism industry professionals in the Canary Islands are scheduled to go on strike on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, in what would be the first such mobilization in the last 47 years. The protest could spread if no agreement is reached.
After several failed attempts at negotiation, the unions have ratified the strike call and accuse the employers of a lack of willingness to make progress on agreements. Meanwhile, the Santa Cruz de Tenerife employers' association has announced the opening of negotiations, but its counterpart in Las Palmas has opted not to make any public statements. Minimum services during the strike remain unspecified.
Among the union's main demands are wage increases to counter inflation, improvements in occupational risk prevention, work-life balance measures, regulation of the use of temporary employment agencies, and increased staffing to address the growing workload resulting from the rise in tourism.
During Holy Week 2024, celebrated in March, hotel occupancy in the Canary Islands reached almost 80%. This year, the situation could be altered by this unprecedented strike in the services sector.
Although the provincial labor agreements expire between the end of this year and the middle of next year, unions consider restoring purchasing power an immediate priority, which has led to a massive turnout of workers in the sector.
