School transport companies ratify strike starting this Monday, January 9

School transport companies have informed the Ministry of Education of the Canary Islands Government this Saturday that they will maintain the strike announced for Monday, which will affect some 37,000 students, but will not interfere with other complementary services such as the dining room.

The Ministry of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands has regretted in a statement that "despite having accepted all the demands of the Federation of Transport Businessmen of the Canary Islands (FET), they maintain their decision not to provide this service on the day of return to class after the holidays."

Education details that the second cycle of Infant, Primary, Secondary, Baccalaureate and Professional Training of public centers adds more than 244,000 students.

To solve this problem, the government team of the Ministry has maintained direct communication these days with the FET since the announcement of this measure, which took place on January 5.

However, conversations will continue to be held with transport companies to address this issue.

As it is a employers' strike and not a strike, it prevents the guarantee of minimum services, adds the Ministry, which indicates that this measure is planned for a single day, this Monday.

The Ministry informs that the educational centers will remain open to carry out their usual activity and that this strike will not affect other complementary services such as the dining room.

Likewise, the educational department highlights that the historical debt acquired by previous governments that the carriers claim is a commitment assumed by the Ministry of Education, whose amounts are established in the 2023 budget with an increase of 9 million euros compared to the previous year.

In the Canary Islands, in the current school year there are 1,486 transport routes, which represents an annual investment of more than 50 million euros for the Canary Islands Executive.