The Spanish government sends the statute of healthcare workers to Congress under the threat of a doctors' strike
The council of ministers gives the green light to the text without counting on the support in Congress
BarcelonaWith thethreat of an indefinite strike, the Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday the bill for the framework statute of healthcare workers, which will now have to begin its parliamentary journey despite the frontal rejection of doctors, who demand their own exclusive negotiation space and labor and professional improvements.
The future statute governs the minimum working conditions for National Health System staff and introduces certain improvements compared to the one in force since 2003: it regulates working hours and breaks for healthcare professionals and standardizes professional categories, adapting them to the European framework. However, among physicians, the text is insufficient to meet their demands, and they demand their own statute. In fact, they have shown their rejection with several rounds of mobilizations and service stoppages that have had discreet follow-ups, according to data from the Department of Health.
Despite the professionals' demands, the Minister of Health, Mónica García, refused to create a separate statute for doctors and, in fact, managed to sign an agreement with five majority unions in the sector —SATSE-FSES, CCOO, UGT, CSIF, and CIG-Saúde—, which did not stop the protests of strictly medical unions, such as Metges de Catalunya.
17-hour on-call duties
Among other measures, the reform puts an end to 24-hour medical on-call duties, reducing them to a maximum of 17, prevents ordinary working days from being worked immediately after an on-call shift, and sets a limit of 45 working hours per week compared to the European ceiling of 48. Doctors, however, are increasing their demands for working days not exceeding 35 hours per week and are calling for the creation of a professional category (A1+).
From now on, the preliminary bill begins its parliamentary process. The minister does not, at present, have the assured majority to push forward one of her major legislative priorities, as the text has provoked the outright rejection of the PP and Vox, in line with the autonomous communities where they govern, while among the investiture partners (ERC, Junts, PNB and EH Bildu) the final decision will largely depend on whether their amendments are included.
In parallel, the medical unions that continue their struggle are threatening to call an indefinite strike across the State. In a survey conducted by Metges de Catalunya – the majority professional union – among its members, 60% of professionals expressed their support for a total stoppage until sectoral demands are met. In a statement, the union denounces the application of a "one-size-fits-all" approach and has criticized the Spanish government's "lack of political flexibility" in approving a statute that has the "outright rejection" of the staff.
With this spirit, the union maintains the initiative Not one minute more in which it encourages medical professionals to adhere to their working hours without working any overtime to highlight that without the overexertion of these professionals, the system is unviable.
