Comisiones Obreras has stated that "the face, the tears, and the dignity stripped from Maricarmen when she was expelled from her home are not an isolated case, they are the clear example of a system that has decided to prioritize real estate business over the right to a roof".
In a statement, the union has denounced that the Rental Voucher and the Young Mortgage are "traps" that ignore the reality of the archipelago.
From the Youth Secretariat of CCOO Canarias, a forceful warning has been issued: "The housing drama in the islands has also crossed all red lines and the policies of the Government of the Canary Islands are very far from reality".
"What happened with Maricarmen has moved us, but, above all, it has meant a change of chip in a society that can no longer and does not want to put up with it anymore," the statement highlighted.
From the Youth Secretariat of CCOO Canarias, they have claimed that housing "has ceased to be a pillar for building a life project and has become a commodity". The union has highlighted that "while the market speculates, thousands of young Canary Islanders face precarious jobs, unaffordable rents, and increasingly difficult emancipation". "Access to decent housing cannot be a privilege: it is a right," the union denounced.
Ignored warnings and paper "solutions"
From CCOO Canarias, they have recalled that this "collapse does not catch institutions by surprise". The union has warned that it has been monitoring and denouncing "political inaction" for months:
Firstly, it has branded the young mortgage approved by the Government of the Canary Islands as a "fiasco". In May, the union already went to the Parliament of the Canary Islands to address the housing crisis head-on. There they pointed out that this initiative was nothing more than "an unreal headline".
"Indebting young people with precarious salaries in a market with exorbitant prices is not a solution, it is a trap that ignores the reality of thousands of Canary Islanders who do not even have the capacity to save to access credit," it added.
Meanwhile, regarding the young rental voucher, it has warned that the Youth Secretariat immediately denounced "the trap" of this measure. "This is another proposal that remains on paper, with requirements that do not fit the housing reality of the islands and which, far from solving the problem, ends up being absorbed by the landlords themselves, further increasing prices."
"Devastating data for youth"
The union has stressed that the ineffectiveness of these policies translates into "devastating data" for the island's youth. In this regard, it has warned of "impossible rents". In the Canary Islands, the average rent already accounts for more than 100% of the net salary of a worker under 30 years of age, maintaining the youth emancipation rate at a "ridiculous" 14%.
At the same time, it has warned of the "expulsion from neighborhoods," through tourism and the lack of regulation of holiday rentals, which are expelling long-time families to replace them with "transient suitcases and investment funds."
In this regard, Comisiones Obreras has set out its "non-negotiable demands":
1. Immediate halt to evictions without housing alternatives: no vulnerable person can be left on the street while there are thousands of empty homes in the hands of large holders.
2. Real caps on rental prices: immediate declaration of stressed areas and strict application of the Housing Law to curb price increases.
3. Zero holiday licenses in residential areas: firm moratorium to prevent homes from becoming disguised tourist businesses.
4. Public park of protected rentals: public construction and management of housing with guaranteed reservation for youth, avoiding formulas that perpetuate bank debt.
"If the Canary Islands do not protect the housing of its people, it will end up being a territory without a people," it has stated in a statement. "Today we say enough: for Maricarmen, for the youth who cannot make ends meet, and for the dignity of our land," they have continued.
"Furthermore, we hope that this Tuesday, September 29, will be decisive at the state level; we need an urgent real change," they concluded from the union.
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