The ultimatum was delivered today by the General Union of Workers, the UGT, which has told employers: “You have 15 days to raise wages or there will be a strike in the summer”
Workers in a popular Spanish holiday destination are threatening to strike during the peak season.
Hotel bosses in Tenerife are facing a stark threat from union leaders: agree to a pay rise within the next fortnight or brace for strike action in the peak of summer. Hospitality chiefs were hit with an ultimatum today by the General Union of Workers, the UGT, announcing to employers: “You have 15 days to raise wages or there will be a strike in the summer.”
Sindicalistas de Base, the leading union on the bargaining committee, has warned that failure to reach a deal by June 13 will result in a call to action with strikes during July and August. The unions demanded an unconditional salary hike retroactive to January 2025 as a precondition to discussing the rest of the items.
The impending strikes could be an echo of the walkouts experienced during Easter Thursday and Friday, after protracted negotiations failed to lead to a deal. The rallying cry of the workers is for a 6.5% wage hike – an additional 4.5% atop the 2% already sanctioned by the collective agreement.
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In a powerful statement, the CCOO union has accused hotel employers of prioritising Tenerife’s tourism image over the welfare of their employees.
“What they don’t tell you is that in all the postcards with photos of paradisiacal beaches and five-star hotels that mark the exterior image there is an internal face where the truth of the destination is told,” the union said in a statement.
“In this case the reality of the working conditions of the sector, the case of a housekeeper who has to take medication every day to make the day bearable and who is forced to clean private homes on days off in order to make ends meet.
“That of waiters who, with split shifts, are condemned to be tied to the company for 12 or more hours a day, to collapse on the roads or to rest in the car between one shift and another. They don’t show you the reception staff subjected to psychosocial risks on a daily basis. They don’t tell you anything about the salary differences between provincial agreements of more than 20% in some categories.”
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The new summer strikes would involve thousands of hospitality and restaurant staff, as well as cleaners, kitchen staff, reception, maintenance and entertainers.
The strikes, if they go ahead, would have a particular big impact on British holidaymakers. The UK is the Canary Islands’ most significant tourism market, accounting for over 40% of all international arrivals.
Close to 6.3 million British tourists visited in 2024, marking an increase of over half a million compared to 2023. This figure is double that of German visitors, the second-largest market, which accounted for nearly three million tourists.