Doctors across Spain began a rolling strike Monday, initiating the first week of intermittent walkouts to demand a national framework statute guaranteeing their working conditions. The strikes will continue on an indefinite, yet intermittent, basis – one week of stoppages each month through June. Scheduled strike dates include April 27-30, May 18-22 and June 15-19.
A march is planned for today, February 15th, at 11:00 hours along the Boulevard in Donostia (San Sebastián), with 9,000 physicians in the Basque Country (Euskadi) expected to participate. The primary impetus for the strike, according to Ana Santorcuato, delegate for the Medical Union of Euskadi, is securing the right for the medical collective to negotiate their working conditions directly with the Ministry of Health.
Santorcuato stated that the current draft of the proposed statute, agreed upon with other union representation, does not adequately address the needs of medical professionals. “The main reason for calling the strike is that the working conditions of doctors can be negotiated by the collective itself,” she explained, adding that the negotiations must address conditions “that are not reflected in the new draft (of the Statute) that they have presented and signed with another union representation in which the medical profession is not reflected.”
A key demand is a revision of professional classification, impacting aspects of work schedules, recognition of service, pension contributions, and future planning, Santorcuato indicated. “Review the type of day, how it is recognized, how it is contributed to and how it should be focused on facing retirement,” she said in a statement to Europa Press.
Thousands of physicians participated in a demonstration in Madrid on Saturday, advocating for a dedicated statute to improve both their working conditions and the quality of patient care. Raquel González, a primary care physician working at the Amara Berri ambulatory in Donostia, argued that doctors have been consistently overlooked. “Doctors have not been taken into account and we have been enduring tremendous workloads for years. Most days we go from attending to 27 patients to 40,” she said. González, with 25 years of service in Osakidetza, the Basque Country’s health service, stated she would participate in the strike “not only for ourselves, but also for the patients, who deserve quality and safe care.”
Recent reports indicate broader pressures on healthcare systems. Salud con lupa reported that intensive care units require 700 additional doctors, highlighting existing staffing shortages. Meanwhile, EL PAÍS reported on financial disputes within the private healthcare sector, suggesting systemic challenges within the Spanish healthcare landscape. In Nicaragua, dozens of doctors who supported protests against the Ortega government have been dismissed, according to EL PAÍS, illustrating the potential consequences for medical professionals who engage in political activism.
