Doctors in Catalonia are going on strike today after failure of mediation attempt
The union Metges de Catalunya (MC), majority among the Catalan doctors, keeps the strike of primary care physicians and the health agreed for this week, although tomorrow will continue to negotiate with the ICS, which does not accept the reduction of the number of daily visits by doctors.
After more than four hours of negotiations tonight in a meeting called 'in extremis' by the Labor Department to try to avoid the strike, doctors and the Catalan Health Institute (ICS) have approached positions in some points, but not in the that the union considers nonnegotiable: the reduction to 28 visits of daily patients and guarantee a minimum of 12 minutes of visit per patient.
Carolina Roser, member of the strike committee of MC, explained at the end of the meeting that the ICS "remains entrenched" in not accepting these two "non-negotiable" conditions for the union to continue advancing in talking about the other claims.
The representatives of the ICS and the Health Department did not want to make statements at the end of the meeting this morning.
Thus, more than 5,700 physicians from 288 primary care teams (EAP) of Catalonia and another 10,000 of the concerted health are called to second as of today, Monday, the strike called for the whole week by the union Metges de Catalunya (MC ) under the motto "Primary Care, dignified and respected".
The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) has also called five days of strike but for all primary care personnel.
Carolina Roser regretted that the ICS has not cited them since last Wednesday to negotiate and has done so today "within a few hours of starting the strike" and has expressed the "willingness to negotiate and reach agreements" of the union.
Roser has acknowledged that although the two points that are considered non-negotiable are still not admitted by the ICS, if they have approached positions in other claims
For his part, the General Secretary of Labor of the Generalitat, Jose Ginesta, has considered that despite the maintenance of the call for strike "the meeting has gone well because we have managed to seat the two parties at the table and to commit to follow negotiating tomorrow. "
Primary care physicians demand, among other measures, to hire more doctors to reduce their workload by reducing the number of daily visits so that they can attend a minimum of 12 minutes to each patient and recover the purchasing power they have lost with the cuts from 2010, which account for 30% of your salary.
The doctors want to limit patient visits to 28 daily and replace the 920 professionals who have been lost with the cuts.
The union has agreed with the ICS some minimum services that during the five days of the week will be 100% in the emergency services, guarantee to cover all the urgent needs and 25% of the doctors today and tomorrow and 33% of the Wednesday to Friday.
