Healthcare technicians protested outside Barcelona’s Hospital Vall d’Hebron on Monday, 25 May, calling for professional reclassification and fairer pay. They say the Spanish government has not carried out a 2022 agreement, and the action was part of an ongoing sector-wide strike.
About twenty technicians took part in the demonstration at Vall d’Hebron. It was one of four protests organised by Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) across Catalonia. Alícia Hernández, general secretary of CCOO’s Health Federation in Catalonia, told journalists that mid-level and senior technicians in the National Health System face discrimination.
The technicians say they are still treated as non-graduates in Spain, even though many hold university qualifications. They argue that their training and responsibilities are recognised at university level in much of Europe, and that their pay should reflect that.
The dispute centres on a 2022 agreement signed by the Spanish government and trade unions. CCOO says the deal would need about €450 million a year to implement. Hernández said the Ministry of Finance has kept the agreement paralysed, and that the government has failed to honour its commitments for four years.
Hospital Vall d’Hebron is one of Barcelona’s largest public hospitals and serves many residents, including people from the city’s northern districts. The protest adds to pressure on the government as technicians continue strike action across Catalonia.
For more on local public-sector disputes, see our Barcelona news tag and community coverage. The original report was published by Metrópoli Abierta.
