Overview

• Medical unions led nationwide walkouts and street protests across Spain, with support from the Medical Association, to oppose the Health Ministry’s draft overhaul of the Estatuto Marco.
• Turnout figures were sharply disputed, with unions reporting high participation against much lower rates from regional authorities, including 58% vs 9% in Catalonia, about 48% official in Andalusia vs 80–90% claimed locally, 12–15% official in Madrid, 23.5% official in Galicia, and 18% official vs up to 90% claimed in Valencia.
• Hospitals reorganized services and postponed non‑urgent care in some centers, and operating rooms at Vigo’s Álvaro Cunqueiro were halted except for urgent and oncologic procedures.
• Regional governments enforced extensive minimum service levels that unions criticized as excessive, with some areas even assigning residents, which unions said limited the ability to strike.
• The ministry, led by Mónica García, defends a single framework it says modernizes conditions, reduces precarious contracts and caps on‑call shifts at 17 hours, while unions press for a separate statute addressing guardias, rest, pensionable hours and workload.