Tenerife Strikes Impacting Hotel Services Amid Easter Weekend Tourism

As hotel workers in Tenerife initiate strikes for better pay and working conditions, travellers are warned to anticipate significant disruptions. While some regions reached agreements, protests remain strong in Tenerife, highlighting the ongoing conflict between tourism growth and local workers' rights.

Holidaymakers planning to visit Tenerife during the Easter bank holiday are facing potential disruptions as hotel workers strike over pay and working conditions. The industrial action is scheduled for Thursday and Friday as workers demand fairer wages and improved conditions.

Unions representing hotel staff have announced that the strikes will primarily affect Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro. Although an agreement was reached for workers in Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura, approximately 80,000 hotel employees on Tenerife are expected to participate in the protests. In response, the UK Foreign Office has advised travellers to check with their tour operators for the latest advice and to heed local authorities' guidance.

During such strikes, workers are legally mandated to ensure a "minimum service"; however, the Comisiones Obreras union, which orchestrated the strike, argues that essential services like cleaning, food preparation, and entertainment should not fall under this minimum requirement. The union emphasizes that enforcing such minimum services infringes on their workers' rights to protest effectively.

Protesters like Fernando Cambon Solino, who relocated to Tenerife for work, voiced their concerns. "While tourists enjoy the beauty of the Canary Islands, the reality for workers here is much tougher," he stated. Similarly, Rodrigo Padilla, a local journalist supporting his mother, a waitress, underlined the issues associated with extensive work hours and the strain these conditions place on their daily lives.

This industrial action follows previous protests last year in both the Canary Islands and mainland Spain, where locals expressed concerns about the negative effects of mass tourism. While residents support the tourism industry, which accounts for 35% of the Canaries' economy, they are advocating for a more sustainable tourism model that addresses environmental issues and housing pressures.