Spain's doctors have postponed the nationwide strike planned for 28 October, with the election set for 29 November. The strike is on hold and has not been canceled.
The dispute centers on a separate legal structure for doctors and medical specialists. The unions say they will restart the mobilisation if the next Government does not address their demands.
The strike committee says the election has changed the talks: the current executive can no longer offer a workable political route to the reforms sought by the profession. The committee includes the Confederación Española de Sindicatos Médicos (CESM) and the Sindicato Médico Andaluz (SMA). The Sindicato Médico de Euskadi (SME) is also a member.
Reports on the earlier mobilisation also named Metges de Catalunya and Madrid's AMYTS among the organisations involved. Galicia's O’MEGA was also named, indicating that the wider campaign extended beyond the three unions listed in the postponement announcement.
Talks with the Ministerio de Sanidad have also stalled. CESM says the draft reached Parliament without the doctors' basic demands.
The unions are focused on the Estatuto Estructura promoted by the Ministerio de Sanidad. In their view, the project lost its political and procedural basis after the Cortes was dissolved. They say the timetable, talks and documents tied to the proposal are no longer valid while Spain waits for a new Government.
They chose to spare members an indefinite stoppage without a clear political route to success. The unions say the conflict remains active.
The unions have asked every party to state its position on the profession's demands in its election programme.
The Consejo de Ministros approved the disputed bill for parliamentary processing at the beginning of September. It would create a general Estatuto Estructura for healthcare staff, a model medical unions oppose. The proposal was already heading toward a difficult Congress vote, with PP and Vox set to oppose it.
With the dissolution of the Cortes, legislative initiatives still under consideration end their parliamentary procedure. The Estatuto Estructura will so have to be introduced again after a new Government is formed, rather than resume its current passage through Parliament.
The unions say the draft fails to recognise doctors' and medical specialists' specific responsibilities and training, along with their working conditions. Their demands include a separate negotiating table and changes to compulsory on-call duties. They also want retirement rules suited to the workload and a professional classification that reflects their qualifications. They seek a distinct regulatory status, rather than inclusion in one structure for all statutory health workers.
Health Minister Mónica García has said she is willing to examine whether a specific statute for doctors is viable, provided it remains within the common structure approved by the Government. She says the general statute updates the rules for statutory health workers and strengthens employment stability. It also improves working conditions and supports more efficient workforce planning.
The dispute has grown over several years. It intensified after Sanidad reached an agreement with SATSE and UGT, followed by CC.OO. and CSIF, at the beginning of 2026.
Doctors staged three strikes in 2025. This year brought a general stoppage in January and monthly phased action in February. Reports on the national campaign also describe periodic week-long stoppages between February and June 2026. A summer pause followed, with indefinite action planned to return in October.
The election removes the parliamentary setting where the doctors' demands were being tested. El Periódico and ABC reported that the election call was the direct political reason for postponing the open-ended action. The organisations have kept open the option of restarting it if the next Government does not respond.
The unions describe this as a tactical pause, and no settlement has been reached. The next Government will inherit a dispute that the current legislative process can no longer resolve. A dedicated negotiation will determine whether the conflict fades or returns to hospitals.
The pause removes the immediate threat of major disruption to healthcare services, but the disagreement remains unresolved. No reliable new official figures have been provided for the number of doctors involved, canceled appointments or economic losses. Data from the Ministerio de Sanidad or regional health services would be needed to measure those effects.
The next cabinet will face pressure to substantially revise the Estatuto Estructura or create a separate legal structure for doctors and specialists.
The electoral setting has already led to other procedural disputes, as shown by an earlier election report. The doctors' unions now see the ballot as a pause in the conflict. If their demands are not addressed after the elections, the postponed indefinite mobilisation can return.
