The negotiations date back to May 15, when the Health Department and the unions signed a preliminary agreement that led to the cancellation of regional strikes called during the preceding months. The deal established a four-month negotiation period with the strike committee to examine the main demands of doctors in Aragón.
Last Thursday, the medical unions and the Health Department held a new meeting to advance the negotiations. However, according to Cesm Aragón president Mercedes Ortín, the meeting once again ended “without progress”.
Meanwhile, the president of Aragón believes that the problems facing the region’s healthcare system regarding waiting lists have nothing to do with “those extra shifts”, but stem from the dispute over the Framework Statute with the Health Ministry. “If waiting lists are increasing today in Aragón, after this government had begun reducing them, it has to do with the strike that healthcare workers throughout Spain are staging against the Health Ministry as a result of the legislation the Health Ministry is promoting,” he stressed.
Azcón believes that the regional government has done its part and reached a preliminary agreement to end the strikes. He also remains optimistic and reiterates that, through “dialogue” and the “recognition that all healthcare workers in Aragón deserve”, they will be able to “reach an agreement”.
