Anyone working at a school in the Canary Islands on Wednesday must be prepared for a skeleton staff: during the education strike, only those staff members assigned by the school management to the specified minimum staffing levels are required to work. The Official Gazette of the Canary Islands Government contains three further resolutions in the same issue.
The Ministry of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sport has set out the details in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands. The strike will take place on Wednesday from midnight until midnight. The strike was called for 16, 19 and 28 October by the trade unions CCOO, UGT, CGT, Confederación Intersindical, STEC-IC and Unión de Actores y Actrices. It affects teachers, the Ministry’s administrative and support staff, seconded teachers and the education inspectorate. The Ministry justifies the minimum services by the need to supervise underage pupils and to fulfil the educational mandate.
Secondary schools and vocational training centres must each have one headteacher and one teacher for every ten classes. Primary and pre-school establishments with up to eight classes also require one headteacher and one teacher; in larger centres, one teacher per eight classes is sufficient. In special schools with boarding facilities, half of the support staff and one nursing professional are required; in mainstream school boarding houses, 25 per cent of the staff are required. The school management determines by name which staff members will take on these duties, in consultation with the employees. In addition to the strike, this edition of the government’s measures covers school buses, funding for an ageing strategy and grants for young people with disabilities:
Education strike: School buses in the Canary Islands are running as normal
On Wednesday, 100 per cent of school transport must operate to all non-university educational centres and school boarding houses. This is set out in the directive from the Ministry of Education, which can be viewed here.
The nationwide general strike is also affecting companies providing occasional transport services, which include school buses. Among other things, these buses take primary and secondary school pupils, as well as children with special educational needs, to school.
Canary Islands: 125,000 euros for a strategy on active ageing
The Vice-Ministry of the Presidency is also providing 125,000 euros in funding for a strategy for active longevity, with the full amount being paid as an advance. The Canary Islands University Foundation in Las Palmas is developing the strategy in collaboration with experts; the draft is being reviewed in workshops and will be finalised at the end of the process. The agreement has been in force for twelve months since 27 October; the documents can be viewed here.
According to the project documentation, the islands are home to around 2.2 million inhabitants, 20 per cent of whom are over 65, and there are at least 400,000 potential beneficiaries. The strategy is intended to cover housing, transport, social services, education and digitalisation, whilst taking into account the circumstances of the 88 local authorities.
Canary Islands: Grants for young people with intellectual disabilities
Scholarships, including those to cover travel costs, may also be awarded to unemployed participants in the «IFC+21» training programme for adapted vocational training. To be eligible, applicants must be over 21 and under 30 years of age, have a recognised mild or moderate intellectual disability of at least 33 per cent, and have been registered as jobseekers at the start of the programme. A total of 200,000 euros has been set aside for the grants; the conditions can be found here.
Attendance of at least 75 per cent is required, with each day of absence costing 10 euros. The project was funded by the Canary Islands Employment Service from 1 September 2025 to 31 August. The duration has been extended until 31 October, and the deadline for scholarship applications is 30 November. The Directorate-General for Vocational Training and Special Educational Programmes is administering the scheme.
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