The Spanish Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM) and the Andalusian Medical Union (SMA) have called for a national strike of medical professionals this Friday to express their dissatisfaction with the Marco Statute – the text that regulates the working conditions of healthcare personnel in the National Health System – proposed by the Ministry of Health, as they consider it «unacceptable» for the medical and healthcare profession.
Among the planned demonstrations nationwide, the medical sector in the Canary Islands stands out, which will gather at the Government Delegations of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, starting at 11:00 a.m., as reported today by the union in the islands to the media.
Negotiations to renew the current Marco Statute, from 2003, began approximately two years ago. The Ministry of Health proposed a first draft a few months ago that was rejected by the unions. In May, they presented a second draft with some of their proposals to the unions, however, the Strike Committee formed by the Spanish Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM) and the Andalusian Medical Union (SMA) believes that the text still does not recognize the «greater responsibility» of the doctor and their «clinical leadership» in the classification of professional groups and does not provide a regulatory framework that reflects the uniqueness of the profession.
The unions demand that doctors have a 35-hour workweek, as well as that the regular work hours and on-call shifts have a clearly defined duration and time frame. They also demand that compensatory breaks be counted as effective working time for all purposes.
They also advocate for all work done at night, regardless of the modality, to have a reduction coefficient for working hours, and that overtime, including on-call shifts, cannot be compensated below the regular hourly rate. They also consider it necessary for rest periods to be extended and guaranteed.
The unions state that since the last meeting held with the Ministry on June 2nd, they have not received any response to many of their requests. Regarding the Ministry’s proposal on regulating working hours, they point out that «the new Marco Statute aims to consecrate the current ‘status quo’, based on sustaining the public healthcare system at the expense of the labor rights of doctors.»
SANITY PROPOSAL
Specifically, this Wednesday, the Ministry of Health made public some points of the second draft of the Marco Statute, something that CESM and SMA consider an attempt to defuse the strike with a «display of disloyalty and bad faith in negotiations.»
In the second draft, Health establishes exclusivity in the National Health System (NHS) for intermediate positions and for managerial personnel, although it ultimately does not include exclusivity for professionals completing specialized training.
Regarding work hours, Health proposes a maximum workday of 45 hours. It also limits on-call shifts to 17 hours, and the combined regular work hours and on-call shifts cannot exceed 17 hours consecutively. Health recalls that previously on-call shifts or the combination of regular work hours and on-call shifts was 24 hours. Additionally, voluntariness and occupational health reports are introduced when extending hours.
It also establishes exemptions from night shifts for workers on rotating shifts over 55 years of age. Likewise, the reasons for exemption from on-call activities are expanded, and voluntariness and occupational health reports are introduced when extending hours.
In this regard, Health Minister Mónica García stated on Thursday that the unions acknowledge the progress made during the negotiations of the Marco Statute.
«We continue to dialogue with all unions, and I believe that in this dialogue, the unions recognize the progress in the Marco Statute to move away from a Statute (…) that has allowed all the abuses that have been committed against professionals over the years,» she said.
CONCENTRATIONS IN 12 AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES
CESM has called for concentrations this Friday in several autonomous communities where they will read a manifesto to explain why the medical community has resorted to strike and what their demands are to the Ministry of Health.
The union has confirmed concentrations in Murcia, Valencia, Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Canary Islands, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, La Rioja, and Andalusia. Meanwhile, in Madrid, Amyts, the Madrid Medical Union, has called for a concentration in front of the Congress of Deputies.
