Madrid doctors and medical professionals are once again joining the national strike called from today, Monday, May 18 to Friday, May 22, against the proposed reform of the Framework Statute for statutory staff of the Ministry of Health’s healthcare system.
According to the Association of Doctors and Senior Graduates of Madrid (Amyts), a member of the national Strike Committee, it has officially registered the regional call and announced daily gatherings at various hospitals and in front of the Ministry of Health.
Fourth week across Spain
This will be the fourth week of strike called by doctors and medical professionals throughout Spain to demand their own statute that guarantees a fair working day, a professional classification in line with training and healthcare responsibility, direct dialogue with public administrations to address their working conditions, and effective measures for work-life balance.
The gatherings called by Amyts in the Community of Madrid will be as follows: On Monday, May 18, at 10 a.m., at the Hospital Clínico San Carlos; and on Tuesday, May 19, at 10 a.m. at the Hospital de Móstoles.
Also on Wednesday, May 20, at 10 a.m., at the Ministry of Health; on Thursday, May 21, at 10 a.m. at the Hospital La Princesa; on Friday, May 22, at 10 a.m. at the Health Department of the Community of Madrid.
Negotiations broken
Amyts stated that “the Ministry of Health continues to ignore doctors and medical professionals across the country after breaking off negotiations with the Strike Committee.” The strike in Madrid will affect all doctors and medical professionals in the Community of Madrid, including Primary Care, Hospital Care, and Out-of-Hospital Care professionals, resident doctors (MIR), specialist training doctors (FSE), professionals from the Central Defense Hospital Gómez Ulla, Fundación Jiménez Díaz, and centers linked to the Madrid Health Service (Sermas).
The Amyts union also reported that the Health Department last week convened the Medical and Healthcare Strike Committee of the Community of Madrid, made up of Amyts, SIME, MUD, and AME, to address labor issues within its competence.
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In this regard, Amyts’ general secretary, Ángela Hernández, denounced, “it was a very short meeting, frankly very disappointing after more than two and a half months since the first one in which it was agreed that they would provide us with the minutes and a schedule of meetings that has not occurred.”
Claims
Therefore, this trade union organization demanded both the Ministry of Health and the Community of Madrid to “start real negotiations with the representatives of doctors and medical professionals to agree on labor improvements that retain professionals and attract talent to Spain.”
Among the demands of this group are a new professional career model, open and permanent, that includes specialized training, objective merits, fifth level, and flexible accreditation systems; and respect for the uniqueness and responsibility of medical performance, with A1/A2 pay differentiation and maintenance of qualification and category requirements.
Along with these, early retirement with reduction coefficients for hardship and occupational risks; increase in on-call pay up to 175% and extension of self-coverage, guaranteeing voluntariness and adequate remuneration for additional shifts; and payment of a transitional supplement for the loss of the 2010 extra pay, in June and September.
They also demanded the creation of a Medical and Healthcare Concertation Table; equality in the evaluation of services provided in all centers; equalization of Hospital Gómez Ulla with Sermas in pay and mobility, eliminating the gap derived from exclusivity; and pay improvements for residents.
