Doctors march through Malaga to demand better working and social conditions
Around 1,000 healthcare professionals took to Calle Larios to protest against "inhumane" 24-hour shifts and call for a statute specific to the medical profession
Hundreds of doctors gathered in Plaza de la Marina on Wednesday morning to participate in a march down Calle Larios and on to Plaza de la Constitución, where a manifesto was read.
The declaration called for their own framework statute, the document that regulates their working, social and economic conditions.
The ministry of health, headed by Mónica García, negotiated and signed this statute with the unions SATSE, FSS-CCOO, UGT, and CSIF, without reaching an agreement with the unions that have the most representation among physicians, including the Malaga medical union (SMM).
As its president, Antonio Martín Noblejas, explained to SUR: "On-call hours that don’t count towards pension contributions add up to between five and seven extra working years for doctors. That is, if a normal working life is 38 years, they could reach 45, without that on-call time contributing towards their retirement."
"We are united in the fight against the contempt shown by politicians and the ministry of health when it comes to improving the conditions and demands of doctors: what the government has done is to despise us. Doctors have neither fought against or criticised any of the demands of other groups, yet they have brazenly taken on a representation they do not have,” Noblejas said.
The president explained that of the 20,000 doctors working in the public sector in Andalucía, 15,000 are represented by the various unions calling the strike.
24-hour shifts
Another of their main issues is the 24-hour shifts. “And on top of that, they’re paid less than for a normal working day. I don’t even want to get started on on-call shifts - they’re a disgrace. You get paid half-rate. It’s pure exploitation; the system is built on the slavery and mistreatment of doctors,” he stated.
The regional government puts participation in the third day of the strike at 27.58%, while the SMM puts it at over 50% in primary care and 80% in hospitals
The regional government said that the third day of strikes in Malaga saw a turnout of 27.58 per cent, while the president of the SMM claimed that primary care support exceeded 50 per cent and reached over 80 per cent in hospitals.
The president of the college of doctors, Pedro Navarro, said that this is not a fight for privileges, but “for a statute of our own that regulates the medical profession”.
“Until now, it has been done behind the doctor’s back and does not take into account the demands we have been making for many years, such as classification: our profession involves six years of study - one year of MIR (residency) and four or five years of specialty training. However, they want to equate us with other healthcare degrees that do not have the same level of training, competence or duration.”
He also pointed out that the pay system is “obsolete” and that the most important supplement is for on-call duties, “so when a colleague is on sick leave or on holiday, their salary decreases because they are not doing on-calls”.
"The 24-hour shifts are inhumane, you can't operate at four in the morning as you can at eight or ten"
Dr Navarro also stated that 24-hour shifts are “inhuman”. “A colleague cannot be on call for 24 hours; you cannot operate at four in the morning the same way you do at eight or ten.”
At the start of the demonstration there were 500 doctors, but as the human tide advanced along Calle Larios, the number reached 1,000. Some residents of the city’s main street applauded the doctors, evoking the spirit of the pandemic. Among the protesters were healthcare workers of all ages, specialties and generations: a protest largely represented by the genuine rejection of 24-hour on-call shifts among the younger doctors.
Own framework statute
Representatives of the Malaga medical students' association and MIR Spain also attended the protest. The main banner of the demonstration had the following slogan: "Own framework statute".
They also chanted slogans such as “It’s not exploitation, it’s a vocation,” and “Mistreatment of the professional leads to deteriorating care.”
"It's not exploitation, it's a vocation"
"We need to dignify the profession"
Among those present was paediatrician Marisa López Salvatierra-Castillo, who practices in Vélez-Málaga, who said: "We need to dignify the profession; it’s a matter of quality of life and being recognised just like any other workers. We’re not asking for anything extraordinary. No one feels at ease after a shift of more than 24 hours, because in the end, it really is more than 24 hours. The minister says it’s only 17, but if you include the ordinary working hours, it adds up - it’s just a matter of doing the maths."
Dr Ana Navarro said that the main reason for the strike is "to take care of health care, we are losing it, we are losing it for all Spaniards". She described the health minister as a "liar" and added: "We are not here for money, we are here because there are injustices at work: people who work in hospitals have a lot of hours that are not paid for."
