Doctors in Catalonia are preparing to mobilise alongside teachers and farmers next month, united in their demand for improved working conditions. The medical professionals are specifically calling for a dedicated agreement, a ‘Conveni mèdic, ja!‘ (Medical Agreement, Now!), to regulate their employment terms.
Your browser does not support the video tag.
This planned joint action follows a protest organised last Friday by Metges de Catalunya (Doctors of Catalonia). It took place on Travessera de les Corts in Barcelona’s Les Corts district, home to the Catalan Ministry of Health (Departament de Salut). Around a thousand demonstrators, as estimated by the City Council of Barcelona’s Guàrdia Urbana (city police), donned doctor’s coats, masks, and carried signs to highlight their demands.
Key Demands and Carnival of Privileges
The protesting doctors’ core demands address several critical issues: the strain of 24-hour shifts, excessive workloads, the struggle for work-life balance, inadequate working hours, and a pervasive shortage of medical professionals. Jordi Aparicio, a doctor from Terrassa, stated he was protesting “after a long time demanding improvements in the sector.” He added:
We ask to be able to better attend to our patients, because it is not only necessary to look at the remuneration, but also at the quality of care.
In a sardonic twist, Metges de Catalunya organised what they termed a ‘Carnival of Privileges’ during the protest, dividing doctors into five groups, each representing a specific problem within the sector. These ‘comparsas’ (groups) highlighted the issues of 24-hour shifts, excessive workload, the right to work-life balance, working hours, and staff shortages. One group, protesting against 24-hour shifts and chanting the slogan ‘No és vocació, és explotació‘ (It’s not vocation, it’s exploitation), even performed a choreographed dance to Michael Jackson’s Thriller as a metaphorical representation of the sector’s exhaustion.
The protest march followed a circular route along key Barcelona thoroughfares, including the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes and Avinguda Diagonal, before returning to the Ministry of Health.
Disagreement Over Strike Participation
Participation figures in the strike varied significantly. According to the Departament de Salut, the strike saw a 7.2% follow-up in the morning. However, the union claimed a far higher rate of 45% in primary care and 29% in public and concerted hospitals (Siscat). Such discrepancies are common in strike actions, reflecting differing methodologies and perspectives.
National Agreement Fails to Satisfy
The protest coincides with a wider period of discontent among medical professionals in Catalonia and across Spain. The Spanish Ministry of Health and labour unions recently signed a new framework statute for healthcare professionals, marking the first update in 22 years. However, this new legislation has failed to satisfy doctors’ organisations, who argue it does not adequately address their concerns. This past Friday’s action formed part of a five-day strike called by the Spanish Confederation of Medical Unions (CESM), which includes regional organisations like the Catalan union. Further five-day strikes are planned each month until June, demonstrating the depth of feeling and determination to force change. Xavier Lleonart, General Secretary of Metges de Catalunya, thanked the protesters for concentrating in such exceptional times:
What happens now will mark the situation of the next few years and we must fight for the population we love.
Looking Ahead: Joint Action on the Horizon
Looking ahead, doctors plan to join forces with other sectors that have recently protested to voice their concerns. Lleonart announced their plans to join other sectors on the streets next month, following recent media attention on their own protests. “We will join forces with teachers, firefighters and farmers,” he stated, signalling a broad coalition of discontent across various professions in Catalonia.
This planned mobilisation highlights the growing frustration among public sector workers in Catalonia over working conditions and the perceived lack of adequate support from the government. The success of this joint action will likely depend on the ability of these disparate groups to unite behind common demands and maintain public support for their cause. Ia Jaumà, a family doctor from the Basic Area of Banyoles, concluded:
We would like not to have to be here, but we are forced to.
