Around 300 people, mostly doctors and their families, demonstrated on Tuesday afternoon in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to demand better working conditions and pay within the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS), as part of the indefinite strike called by the doctors‘ unions.
The protest marched along Mesa y López from the Naval Base to Plaza de España, with slogans such as «Without doctors, there is no healthcare!» and «It’s not a shift, it’s slavery!», accompanied by a batucada and signs modelled on those used in property sales, bearing messages such as ‚For sale: Your health‘, ‚For sale: Public healthcare‘ and ‚For sale: Labour rights‘.
The president of the Canary Islands Medical Union (CESM), Éric Álvarez, has told journalists that negotiations with the Regional Ministry of Health are currently at a standstill because, he said, the ministry has not responded to the latest proposal put forward by the strike committee last week.
Doctors' strike: Trade union awaits new offer
Álvarez has stated that the doctors will continue with the indefinite strike for the time being and has ruled out the possibility of calling it off before resuming talks with the Regional Ministry.
«Today, some media outlets have reported that the minister said that in order for her to meet with us, we first had to call off the strike; that is not going to happen, they’ve already had plenty of time to do that; at most, we’ll discuss it with the doctors,» he said.
«Let them get in touch and we’ll see if what they’re proposing is enough to call it off,» he added.
Canary Islands Health Service to improve working conditions and salaries
As he explained, the demands centre on three key areas: greater representation of doctors at the negotiating table, improvements to working conditions and rest periods, and pay rises to make the Canary Islands‘ healthcare system more attractive.
«The Canary Islands, despite what they say, are one of the regions that pay their doctors the least. They claim that the Canary Islands attract doctors, but the reality is that, although it is hard to admit it, they are losing many specialists and replacing them with doctors who do not have a specialism,» he pointed out.
The Department of Health and doctors' unions are at loggerheads over demands
When asked about the comments made this morning by the Regional Minister for Health, Esther Monzón, in which she stated that the demands put forward by the two trade unions organising the doctors‘ strike on the islands are «illogical» and «unattainable» and «would completely overwhelm the system», the CESM spokesperson has called on her to explain this to them «directly at the negotiating table».
Álvarez has criticised the fact that she is making these statements to the media «without explaining to us in detail exactly what it is that isn’t possible», whilst stating that «the proposals we have put forward to her are similar to those made in other autonomous communities, and there no one is saying that they aren’t possible».
According to the trade union spokesperson, the minister «is repeating like a mantra whatever her communications teams tell her».
Álvarez has stated that «we doctors are completely fed up with the situation and with the Canary Islands Health Service», but that «this is the response and it will remain so for the foreseeable future».
He also stated that the service coordinators and executive committees will meet this Thursday to decide on the next steps if there has been no response from the Regional Ministry of Health by then.
For his part, Javier Luño, spokesperson for the Canary Islands Medical Employees‘ Union (SEMCA) and a member of the strike committee, has criticised the comments made by the director of the Canary Islands Health Service, Adasat Goya, regarding the representativeness of the medical unions, and has announced that they will ask the regional president, Fernando Clavijo, for «a completely different negotiating partner» to continue the negotiations.
24-hour shifts make it difficult for doctors to balance work and family life
Among those attending the demonstration were doctors accompanied by their children, most of whom were babies and young children.
Sara Moreno, an internist at the Hospital Insular, told EFE that the reason she is joining them at the demonstration is that one of their main demands is to replace 24-hour on-call shifts with 12-hour shifts, as long working hours make it difficult for healthcare professionals to achieve a work-life balance.
Moreno has stated that they are aware that in this profession «you have to work night shifts», but she has complained that when working 24-hour shifts, «when you finish at eight, which is never actually at eight because you have to hand over to the next shift, you get home and don’t see them again until they come out of nursery the next day at three or four in the afternoon. «So, in the end, you go about 30 hours without seeing your children.»
The doctors also handed out leaflets during the demonstration to explain their demands to the public and to apologise for any inconvenience caused: «We know that a strike can disrupt your care and cause concern. To put your mind at ease, care for urgent and unpostponable cases will continue throughout the strike.»
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