Madrid, January 15 – Several hundred doctors and specialists from the Community of Madrid gathered on the streets of Madrid this Wednesday to demand a new Framework Statute that would guarantee “dignified” working conditions for their profession.
Doctors Demand Dignified Conditions and New Framework Statute
The protest, organized by the Amyts union, saw participants holding banners that read ‘For a specific statute for the medical and facultative profession.’ Many wore white coats, chanting slogans such as ‘Vocation is not exploitation,’ ‘Stop 24-hour shifts,’ and ‘More coats and fewer ties.’ The march was marked by shouts of ‘You can’t work 24 hours.’
Ángela Hernández, general secretary of the Amyts union, addressed the media, denouncing the current working conditions faced by doctors and specialists. She highlighted issues of overload and difficulties in work-life balance, reiterating the demand for a specific Framework Statute for the profession.
“These improvements, which we are not against, seem completely insufficient to doctors and specialists because they leave us in the same situation of discrimination and semi-slavery that we have been dragging since the Framework Statute was approved in 2003,” Hernández stated.
Key Demands of the Medical Professionals
Among their primary demands, the medical professionals are calling for an end to 24-hour shifts. Hernández emphasized that these shifts are “paid at less than the ordinary hourly rate and represent a difficulty for conciliation and a hardship for patient care.” They also seek early retirement with reduced coefficients for arduous and risky working conditions.
The need for a fair professional category was also highlighted. “The classification is a fair professional classification; we have no problem with other categories improving their classification, but we are concerned that there may be a mix of competencies that could lead to a deterioration,” she warned.
Other demands include a new professional career model that is “open and permanent, including specialized training, objective merits, a fifth level, and flexible homologation systems.” They also seek respect for the uniqueness and responsibility of medical performance, with A1/A2 differentiated remuneration and the maintenance of qualification and category requirements.
Criticism of Regional and National Government Handling
The medical union also criticized the Autonomous Communities for using this issue against the Ministry of Health, especially since “Health is transferred, and 85-90% of management responsibility belongs to the communities.” Hernández stressed that the issue extends beyond the Ministry of Health, involving at least three other ministries: Public Function, Treasury, and Social Security, making it a concern for the entire government.
This strike, initiated by regional unions that are part of the Association for a Medical and Facultative Statute (APEMYF), is officially registered and called by Amyts in the Community of Madrid. Across Spain, 175,000 specialists-two out of every three-are called to participate through APEMYF member organizations in communities such as Madrid, Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia, Navarre, the Valencian Community, the Region of Murcia, and Asturias, as well as all Primary Care doctors.
Hernández underscored the necessity of negotiation, both at the autonomous and national levels, with doctors and specialists, in elections where “anyone who wanted to stand could participate.”
“The problem with the scope is that less than 5% of doctors are represented by these bodies. So it is not fair that those who do not suffer the conditions are negotiating them,” Hernández concluded.
Source: https://elcorreodepozuelo.com/2026/01/15/primera-huelga-del-ano-centenares-de-medicos-y-facultativos-claman-en-madrid-por-un-estatuto-marco-propio-de-la-ministra-monica-garcia-vocacion-no-es-explotacion/
