Doctors rise once again against the Health Framework Statute: they call an indefinite strike starting October 28

Doctors across Spain are preparing for a new showdown with the Ministry of Health. The professional union organizations have agreed to call an indefinite strike starting next October 28 to demand that the Government modify its proposal for a Framework Statute and open a specific negotiation for medical professionals.

The decision unifies the mobilizations that had previously been planned separately. The Unión Médica y Facultativa (Umyf) has conveyed the agreement on behalf of the medical union organizations and has called on all doctors and medical professionals to maintain a common position in a conflict it considers decisive for the future of the profession.

The unions' objective is for Health to abandon the current model and move towards a specific statute for doctors, a demand they maintain in the face of the ministerial proposal. The announcement also comes after Minister Mónica García this week opened the door to drafting a specific statute for doctors, though always within the general structure of the Framework Statute.

A long-standing conflict

The new call comes after weeks of confrontation between Health, professional organizations, and the autonomous communities. Approximately a month ago, the Interterritorial Council of the National Health System became another arena for the dispute.

At that meeting, the 17 autonomous communities and the cities of Ceuta and Melilla demanded that the department led by García withdraw the existing proposal and resume negotiations from the beginning. The request was supported by territories governed by different political parties, including the Popular Party.

García then refused to restart the process and defended the work done over the past years. "I am not going to break the law, nor am I going to put on standby the working conditions of professionals who have been waiting for 20 years," stated the minister, arguing that restarting conversations would mean giving up the progress made.

Health also defended the agreement reached with CCOO, UGT, CSIF, and SATSE, the organizations participating in the union table for statutory personnel. The Ministry recalled that the communities have participated for three years in technical groups, Interterritorial Council meetings, and various periods of allegations.

Medical unions escalate pressure

Despite the Ministry's movements, medical organizations have now decided to harden their response and coordinate their mobilizations. Until now, protests had been driven by different fronts: on one side, CESM and SMA, and on the other, Umyf.

The new scenario concentrates the demands into a single call and places the Ministry before an indefinite strike that will begin on October 28. The unions demand a negotiation that allows for the design of a specific labor framework for medical professionals and not a specific regulation built upon the current Framework Statute.

The decision also comes after García publicly defended that there is room to create such a medical statute, although "on the common basis" of the Framework Statute. A formula that, for the moment, has not served to defuse the conflict with the profession's union organizations.