Doctors will begin an indefinite strike on February 16th.
The mobilization will be repeated once a month until June to demand a framework statute that recognizes the working conditions of the group.
PalmDoctors across Spain are preparing a new union offensive, and doctors in the Balearic Islands will also join the mobilization. Several professional organizations have announced an indefinite nationwide strike, beginning on Monday, February 16, and consisting of one-week work stoppages per month until June. The main objective is to achieve a specific framework statute that regulates the working conditions of medical and healthcare personnel. The strike has been called by the Strike Committee, comprised of the Spanish Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM), the Andalusian Medical Union (SMA), Doctors of Catalonia (MC), the Association of Doctors and Higher Graduates of Madrid (AMYTS), and the Independent Medical Professionals Union of Galicia (O'Mega), with the support of the Galician union Simega.
According to the unions' statement, the first strikes are planned for February 16-20, and will be repeated from March 16-20, April 27-30, May 18-22, and June 15-19. The protest organizers consider this schedule a "first phase" of joint mobilizations with the aim of opening a negotiation process that recognizes the specific needs of the medical profession.
Protest in Madrid
As a starting point, the unions have called a unified demonstration on Saturday, February 14th in Madrid, open to professionals from all autonomous communities, including the Balearic Islands. The event aims to highlight the sector's rejection of the Ministry of Health's regulations and demand regulations that take into account the special conditions of training, responsibility, and professional practice of doctors. Despite the strike announcement, the unions insist they remain open to dialogue and trust that the Ministry of Health will resume talks to move towards agreements that improve the working conditions of medical personnel. Furthermore, they reiterate that their demands affect not only the Ministry of Health, but also other departments of the national government, parliamentary groups, and regional health authorities, and they demand that each administration assume its responsibilities to guarantee a "sustainable, efficient, and high-quality" National Health System, both for professionals and patients.