Overview
- Medical unions announced the indefinite strike scheduled for late October is postponed because the government called an early general election, but the strike call remains active and can be reactivated if demands are not met.
- The election dissolved the Cortes Generales so the Estatuto Marco reform that had been in parliamentary committee has lapsed and must be reintroduced by the incoming government to proceed.
- Doctors’ unions including CESM and the new confederation UMYF say the draft sent to the Cortes failed to include key demands such as a separate medical statute, limits on compulsory on-call duties, retirement rules tied to workload, and a distinct negotiation table.
- Other major health-sector unions — SATSE-FSES, FSS-CCOO, UGT and CSIF — backed the government’s draft and are urging the next executive to use that agreed text as the starting point for urgent reform.
- The draft Estatuto Marco contained concrete workplace changes such as a 45-hour maximum weekly workweek, a 17-hour cap on a single on-call shift, measures on work–life balance and protections against aggression, and the dispute over those provisions will shape whether doctors return to street mobilizations or accept resumed talks.