The employment authorities in the Canary Islands government, controlled by the People's Party (PP) in Fuerteventura, have left minimal services, making passengers the target of demands by Salcai drivers in southern Gran Canaria, who are also partners in the company. A strike with Canarian passengers and tourists lying in the sun at a time of high temperatures. Check here the minimum services by area.
The intercity bus drivers' strike in Gran Canaria has left images of a genuine hostage situation for thousands of passengers who depend on Global-Salcai, the company that de facto controls the bus monopoly. The basic services, which should guarantee basic mobility for residents, workers, and tourists, have become an ordeal: endless lines under the sun, overcrowded buses, and overflowing bus stops at key locations such as San Telmo, Maspalomas, and the airport.
A monopoly protected by minimum services
The dispute not only exposes the labor dispute between drivers and employers, but also the protection of a public transport model that has been monopolized for decades. While unions denounce precarious working conditions and the lack of meaningful bargaining, commuters bear the cost of a system without competition or alternatives.
Blow to tourism and daily mobility
The strike coincides with a high tourist presence in the south of the island, where thousands of visitors have been trapped between endless waits and impossible-to-find taxis. Hoteliers and retailers warn of incalculable damage to Gran Canaria's image as a destination. For residents, the situation is no better: students, healthcare workers, and hospitality workers are forced to improvise to get to their jobs, paying out of their own pockets for the inefficiency of a public service that should be essential.
The island, hostage of Salcai
The strike has uncovered a reality that many prefer not to look at: Gran Canaria is captive to a single intercity transport company. Without rail alternatives, without competing operators, and with a public administration dependent on the same operator, the population finds itself literally kidnapped. A crisis that, beyond the labor situation, calls into question the island's mobility model and the excessive influence of a monopoly called Salcai.
