Hotel workers across Tenerife and the western islands are preparing for a fresh wave of strikes this summer, with weekly walkouts planned every Friday in July and August, as tensions between unions and hotel employers continue to escalate.
Sindicalistas de Base, the leading union in the sector, announced yesterday, Monday, that it will formally propose the strike action during a meeting of the union committee set for 16th June. The plan includes protests outside hotels operated by major chains and a series of strike days beginning on Friday 4th July.
The potential industrial action comes just months after similar strikes disrupted tourism operations during the Easter holidays, highlighting ongoing unrest over pay and working conditions in one of the Canary Islands’ most vital economic sectors.
Union leader Manuel Fitas reminded the media that on 29th May, the union gave hotel associations Ashotel and Aero a 15-day deadline to agree to a 6.5% wage increase ahead of any new contract negotiations. That deadline is now fast approaching.
Fitas criticised what he described as the employers’ “stubborn refusal” to discuss salary improvements outside the framework of a full collective agreement renegotiation. He said this has forced the union to prepare for a “new escalation” in the labour dispute.
If confirmed, the strikes would hit the tourism industry during the peak summer season, potentially affecting thousands of holidaymakers and putting additional pressure on employers to return to the negotiating table.
