Trade unions, student organisations and social organisations in Tenerife have issued a joint call to support the general strike this Wednesday and to take part in the demonstrations planned across all the islands to demand solutions to the housing crisis, precarious pay and rising prices.
Representatives from the Comisiones Obreras, UGT and STEC trade unions, the Canary Islands Students‘ Association, the LGTBI Diversas Association and the group of chambermaids have held a press conference to explain why they are calling on the public to support this Wednesday’s general strike.
Héctor Fajardo, the Secretary for Organisation at UGT Canarias, has argued for the need for a mobilisation that would demonstrate the unity of action among trade unions and social organisations in the face of a problem which, he said, affects the entire population.
Tenerife: Wages are not keeping pace with the cost of living
Fajardo has pointed out that, in addition to access to housing, one of the main demands is for higher wages, and he has criticised the fact that employers‘ organisations have failed for over a year to sit down to negotiate the new agreement on employment and collective bargaining, which serves as a benchmark for wage increases in collective agreements.
The trade union leader has warned that wages are not keeping pace with the rising cost of housing and has argued that investment in social housing and policies to facilitate access to it must become a key focus of the next government’s agenda.
For her part, the general secretary of CCOO in Tenerife, Paloma Barros, has warned that nearly 700,000 people in the Canary Islands are living below the poverty line or in extreme poverty, including those in employment.
«Any one of us could find ourselves in this situation,» said Barros, who pointed out that wages are not enough to afford decent housing or make ends meet, whilst prices continue to rise.
The CCOO representative added that housing insecurity does not only affect those on low wages, as there are also workers with what are considered average incomes who live in vans or share accommodation with several people or families because they cannot find any properties to rent.
Barros has argued that the strike is not directed against any particular political ideology, but rather aims to demand changes to policies on housing, prices, healthcare and education, regardless of which party is in power.
Fuerteventura and Lanzarote: High rents are exacerbating the teacher shortage
STEC representative Iván Morales has explained that the housing crisis is having a direct impact on the education system, particularly on the non-capital islands, where high rents make it difficult for teachers to take on supply teaching roles.
He pointed out that some teachers are turning down posts in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote because rent can take up 75 per cent of their salary if they work full-time, and their entire income if they work part-time.
These refusals, he added, make it difficult to find replacements and result in pupils missing lessons because they are left without a teacher.
Andrés Paz, spokesperson for the Canary Islands Students‘ Association and its representative at the University of La Laguna, has argued that the strike is not directed against any specific government, but rather aims to demand solutions from all public authorities, which he has held responsible for the housing situation.
Paz has criticised the lack of effective policies on the part of the central government, the Canary Islands regional government and local councils, citing as an example the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, which he has accused of being «more interested in keeping a monument to Franco standing than in building flats for the working classes».
The student representative has emphasised that the University of La Laguna’s Student Council has unanimously approved a call for an academic strike and has encouraged young people to take part in the protest in light of the difficulties they face in accessing housing and building a life of independence.
LGTBIQ+ people are particularly likely to experience homelessness
Meritxell Salazar, an activist with the LGBTIQ+ organisation Diversas, explained that the group is joining the campaign because, as she pointed out, one in five LGBTIQ+ people has experienced homelessness in the last five years.
She also pointed out that workplaces are the second most common setting in which people from this group suffer physical, psychological and sexual violence, after the street.
Salazar has called for unity amongst trade unions, social movements and civil society organisations to tackle both the housing crisis and instances of violence and discrimination.
Canary Islands: Information stands and demonstrations planned for the strike day
The UGT representative has stated that the demonstrations planned for this afternoon will be «massive» due to the cross-cutting nature of the demands, and has denied that the protest is politicised in the sense of being directed against a particular political party.
The organising bodies have announced that information picket lines will be in place from the early hours of the day of the strike and have called for people to take part in the demonstrations planned across all the islands.
In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the march will set off at 5.30 pm from Plaza Weyler and will end outside the Canary Islands Government Headquarters.
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