Doctors’ unions have called off the nationwide stoppage planned for Friday, but separate strikes remain scheduled in five autonomous communities. They are seeking changes to compulsory on-call shifts and more staff.
Regional health departments are now where negotiations matter most: many of the doctors’ demands depend on decisions by those administrations. The nationwide stoppage was postponed on 7 October after Spain’s early-election timetable left too little parliamentary time for the proposed reform of the Statute Framework, the state law setting basic rules for public-health staff. The unions have called off the nationwide action planned for Friday but are keeping separate regional strikes in place.
The proposed reform would cut the standard maximum working week from 48 to 45 hours and generally limit on-call duties to 17 hours. It would allow voluntary shifts of up to 24 hours on weekends, public holidays and at hard-to-staff posts, subject to occupational-risk safeguards. Unions also want a dedicated negotiating table for doctors and a revised professional classification. They are seeking recognition of how compulsory on-call shifts affect retirement. Miguel Lázaro, president of the Confederación Estatal de Sindicatos Médicos, has said a retiring doctor’s basic salary can be about €1,300 and that compulsory on-call shifts do not count toward pension calculations.
The Canary Islands strike began on 16 October and is scheduled to run through 26 October. Initial participation was reported at around 10%. Regional negotiations are continuing alongside the action. Union representatives say doctors will remain on strike while their demands go unmet.
Madrid is due to join the strike on 28 October. The Community of Madrid’s Official Gazette published AMYTS’s formal strike notice on 24 October, recording that the union notified the labour authority on 13 October. The call covers doctors, other medical specialists, senior healthcare graduates and resident doctors in qualifying medical training across SERMAS primary care, out-of-hospital and hospital services. It also includes linked institutions such as Fundación Alcorcón, Fuenlabrada, Villalba, Infanta Elena de Valdemoro, Rey Juan Carlos de Móstoles and Torrejón University Hospital.
Madrid’s action is arranged in four blocks, each running from 08:00 on the first date to 08:00 on the final date: 28 to 31 October, 4 to 7 November, 18 to 21 November and 9 to 12 December. The same 28 October start date applies in Catalonia and the Valencian Community. Metges de Catalunya has called an indefinite strike, seeking shorter working hours and an end to 24-hour on-call shifts. It is also pressing for broader professional and economic changes. Andalusia is scheduled to join on 13 November, with three weeks of continuous 24-hour stoppages planned through 4 December by the Sindicato Médico Andaluz.
The unions want compulsory on-call shifts reduced or abolished, with better pay for those that remain. They also seek relief from clinical workloads, with agendas capped at about 25 patients. More staff remains a central demand. Metges de Catalunya has added a minimum 20% pay rise and a distinct professional group to its demands.
Agreements have been reached in Asturias and Galicia. In Euskadi, an agreement that unions elsewhere cite as a model counts post-call rest as working time and introduces voluntary 12-hour shifts. It also envisages gradually replacing 24-hour on-call shifts over as many as five years.
