The general strike called this Wednesday in defense of housing and decent wages has begun in the Canary Islands with information pickets and different protest actions during the night shift in the sectors with the greatest union presence. Among them, Mercalaspalmas stands out, the ports of Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote, as well as several bus stations in the archipelago.
As CCOO Canarias has detailed, the mobilizations are, in general terms, developing normally, although some incidents linked to police charges have been recorded—events that the union has publicly regretted.
The union headquarters has emphasized that there have been “important” stoppages in numerous workplaces and in sectors considered strategic on different islands, which shows a significant impact of the call.
CCOO Canarias has given a very positive assessment of the follow-through in the first shifts of the day, especially in those productive activities where union presence is more intense and where stoppages and interruptions to usual activity are being recorded.
The union has also highlighted the involvement of young people, pointing out that the day has a “wide response” in universities and among the entire student body, which has joined the protest actions.
For the organization, the support of “thousands” of workers, young people and students shows that the public “is not willing to resign itself to a model in which having a job does not guarantee making ends meet, accessing decent housing, or building a future with guarantees”.
In its provisional assessment, CCOO Canarias argues that the development of the strike highlights the urgency of redirecting economic and social priorities, by considering that corporate benefits “cannot continue to grow while working families see their living conditions deteriorate”.