The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, assured the spokespersons for the PSOE and Vox during Wednesday’s plenary session of the Parliament that he would sit down with the public healthcare doctors, who have been on strike for 26 days, to negotiate measures that do not compromise the quality of care.
This was confirmed by Clavijo when he answered questions from these two groups regarding the protest organised by the main medical trade unions to demand better working conditions for the sector.
Vox spokesperson Nicasio Galván has urged Clavijo to make use of his «Canarian way of negotiating» and to «sit down» with the organisers of this strike, as there has been no progress in this dispute since the last meeting on 14 October; resolving it must be a priority because «the Canarian healthcare system is overwhelmed».
Doctors' strike: Clavijo draws a red line on patient care
Clavijo has acknowledged that these workers‘ demands are «legitimate», although he has emphasised that, as the government he leads is «serious about the management of public resources, it can only commit to what it will be able to afford», referring to the «further 150 million euros» it has put on the table «for doctors‘ salaries».
«There are certain organisational measures being called for that will be detrimental to the quality of care provided to the public. And we are not here to defend the trade unions; we are here to defend the public and to ensure that, through trial and error, we have the best possible Canary Islands Health Service,» the president asserted.
In any case, he has made it clear that «if necessary» he will sit down with the doctors, as he does, he said, «with everyone», although he has insisted that «the red line» he has drawn «is that, under no circumstances, will he reach an agreement that would jeopardise healthcare provision for the public».
«As in all negotiations, we will of course have to make concessions, they will have to make concessions, and we will have to settle for what is possible. They are highly qualified professionals who understand the situation we find ourselves in: without a national budget and with a Canary Islands budget that faces constraints arising from economic and financial non-compliance,» he said.
Canary Islands Parliament: Vox and the PSOE urge Clavijo to take action
In his response, Fernando Clavijo remarked ironically on the apparent harmony he perceives this time between the Vox spokesperson and the trade unions. On this Wednesday, the day of the general strike, Nicasio Galván replied that he should make no mistake: he wants nothing to do with «those freeloaders».
For his part, the PSOE spokesperson, Sebastián Franquis, has criticised the Canary Islands Government for its «indolence and apathy» regarding this dispute and has urged Clavijo to take the same approach with the doctors as he did with the hospitality sector, stepping in to help break the deadlock over the renewal of their collective agreement.
The President of the Canary Islands responded, with a touch of irony, by expressing his gratitude for «the blind faith that Vox and the PSOE have shown recently» in his ability to resolve problems in this region.
«Don’t worry, they’ve already asked me to a meeting and, of course, I’ll sit down to negotiate just as I do with everyone else. But you’re being a little bit inconsistent, as you’re leaving the Government without resolving the Framework Statute» for doctors, who have been on strike for months demanding that it be amended, Clavijo chided the Socialist MP.
In his response, Franquis criticised the president, saying that «whenever they’ve had to increase the contracts with private healthcare every year, nobody has objected».
«When they had to increase pharmaceutical spending by 432 million in next year’s budget, nobody raised any objections. When you had to sit down and commit almost 500 million euros to pay compensation to certain business owners, nobody raised any objections. Now, when it comes to defending a fundamental public service in the Canary Islands such as healthcare, objections are being raised,» he criticised.
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