The monitoring of the general strike in Lanzarote has been uneven. While UGT has put the participation in this Wednesday's general strike at 56% across the Canary Islands, an autonomous community where dependence on the service sector predominates. On the islands, participation is five points below the state average, which reaches 61%, according to the Efe Agency.
For its part, Andrés González, deputy general secretary of UGT Lanzarote, has highlighted that the participation figures "are disparate depending on the sectors." "We are considering participation figures of between 20 and 30% depending on the sectors," he stated. According to data from Comisiones Obreras, based on the works councils where it has representation, strike participation is around 42% of employees.
Pickets to inform about the strike
Alejandro Domínguez, general secretary of Comisiones Obreras of Lanzarote, explained that the union has set up pickets from early in the morning to inform workers and citizens about the reasons for the call. During the morning, UGT also formed different pickets in various areas of the island, especially in tourist towns.
The call for this general strike was made following the high-profile eviction of a neighbor from Madrid, Maricarmen Abascal, who died in the hospital a few days after being evicted from her home by a vulture fund. The main reasons for mobilization have been: housing, wage increases, and inflation.
“We are talking about wages, we are talking about housing, we are talking about prices, we are talking about public policies such as education, healthcare, the pension system, and all of them are of interest to the general public,” argued Domínguez, from CCOO.
Hotels with 60 employees on strike
“There are specific hotels that we know have joined the strike; out of a staff of 160 workers, 60 people have joined the strike,” stated Alejandro Domínguez, who has described some minimum services decreed in employment that are not considered essential work as “abusive.”
A drop in electricity consumption
However, Andrés González has emphasized that electricity consumption has decreased by between 10 and 15% nationally on this strike day, which, in his opinion, reflects the “success” of this work stoppage.
The sectors where the strike has been most supported are hospitality and the industrial sector, such as the companies that manage water and electricity for Lanzarote and La Graciosa. The participation of transport workers has also been notable.
González has highlighted the objectives they are pursuing with this general strike on November 11. According to him, they are focusing on three blocks: housing, wages, and prices. Regarding housing, what UGT proposes is that "there must be sustained public investment to shield a park of protected rental housing against speculation." Thus, he explained that "there must be public land for public housing and affordable rent, and this is something that unions must primarily do."
Regarding the Canary Islands Government, which has competence in housing, UGT demands that the regional Executive itself establish tense areas to "cap rent and utilities at 30% of family income."
This union has also indicated that this strike aims to "curb the legal fraud in prices, imposing limits on seasonal and residential tourist rentals." Likewise, they have stated that other objectives are to "strengthen public banking to guarantee fair mortgages and curb abuses in the financial sector, as well as create a social shield of direct aid to protect vulnerable families and stop evictions."
Regarding wages, UGT wants them to be decent. "It cannot be that people spend more than half of their salary on rent," he said. "We are being told that this is a political strike and not a labor strike, and obviously it is a labor strike, but it is also political because bread, electricity, water, or rent are paid with wages, and if they are not decent, we cannot have a reasonable quality of life."
"Today is a very important day because the general strike is the most powerful weapon that the working class has to claim our demands and our rights," González concluded.
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