Spanish nurses lose 700 euros as union pushes law

Nurses and physiotherapists in Spain are losing about 700 euros a year from incomplete extra payments, their union says. On 10 September in Madrid, the Nursing Union SATSE urged the Congress of Deputies to pass a new employment law for public health service staff before the current parliamentary term ends. The union says the bill could reshape working conditions across the health system.

At the centre of its five priorities is the proposed Framework Statute, the rulebook setting out employment conditions for staff in public health services. SATSE says Congress should stop delaying the measure and use the debate to strengthen workers’ rights and conditions.

The union also wants regional administrations to have their concerns reflected in the final text. It says this would better match the needs of the authorities that directly manage health service staff.

SATSE insists that gains agreed with the Ministry of Health in January must not be diluted. These include access to early and partial retirement, a new system for professional grades and rules on working hours for all public health staff.

The union says 32 extra payments have already not been paid in full. It wants the next national budget to provide full payments not only for nurses and physiotherapists, but for other public health workers and all civil servants.

SATSE will again press parliamentary groups to approve a law on nurse staffing levels, which it says has been waiting for more than six years. It points to staff shortages reported across all autonomous communities over the summer and during the severe migration crisis in Ceuta.

At regional and provincial level, the union plans pressure campaigns and mobilisations aimed at improving jobs and career development. It will also seek wider use of school nurses, saying their presence remains scarce and uneven despite recent progress.

Topics: Jobs & labour · Education · Health · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com