In Catalonia, medical and specialist staff in the public health system are set to strike on Wednesday, 17 June, after a new call from Metges de Catalunya (MC). It will be the union’s twelfth strike since October.
The action closes the first cycle of protests announced in February by national medical organisations. Those protests are against the proposed reform of the Framework Statute for health personnel.
MC says the Catalan health department has not responded adequately to the dispute. The union said the department “has limited itself to washing its hands” of the issue, and argued that the Spanish Ministry of Health is responsible for addressing doctors’ demands.
The union disputes that position. It says issues such as working hours, breaks, pay, contracts and on-call rules are “100% attributable to the autonomous communities”. MC also said medical specialists, who it says make up 20% of health staff, “no longer accept that their working conditions are decided by organisations that do not defend their interests and that, with an 80% majority, agree to collective agreements detrimental to medical professionals.”
The strike adds to ongoing tensions between medical staff and health authorities over working conditions and professional representation. For more Catalonia news, see our news coverage.