The Medical Union of the Balearic Islands (Simebal) carried out this Thursday new concentrations in the Islands in the framework of the third day of strike called at state level against the draft of the new Framework Statute. The central mobilization took place at 11.00 am in front of the Government Delegation in Palma, becoming the third protest in which the doctors of the archipelago took to the streets this year to join the demands of the group at national level.
Two other rallies were also held throughout the morning: one at 8:30 am at the Mateu Orfila hospital in Menorca, and another at 11:30 am at the Can Misses hospital in Ibiza. All actions were supported by the Medical Association of the Balearic Islands (Comib). Its president, Carlos Recasens, was present at the protest in Palma.
During the rally in the Balearic capital, Recasens and Ignacio García, Simebal’s occupational hazards delegate, were in charge of reading the manifesto. In Menorca it was read by the delegate of the union on the island, Claudio Triay, while in Ibiza the reading was in charge of Carlos Rodriguez, union leader in the Pitiusas.
The protests coincided with the meeting that the Minister of Health, Mónica García, held at the same time with the strike committee, in which the president of the state-level medical union, Miguel Lázaro, participated.
Rejection of the draft Framework Bylaws
The mobilizations revolved around the rejection by the medical profession of the draft of the new Framework Statute, a document which, according to their complaints, does not recognize the uniqueness or the responsibility of healthcare professionals. They also criticize the fact that it does not guarantee rest breaks, nor does it limit the “marathon working days” that many physicians are forced to undertake.
The strike committee also regretted that the Ministry had rejected the proposal for its own statute for doctors and physicians presented by the unions two weeks ago. They claim that Mónica García’s department has shown “a total lack of willingness to negotiate” despite the impact these measures would have on the healthcare system.
In total, 177,000 public health physicians, more than 33,000 MIRs and, for the first time in this call, 45,000 medical students, who joined the strike with school work stoppages, were called to strike.
