Summary:
Strike initiated by the Portuguese Nurses' Union across major cities.
Paralysis for two hours in the morning and afternoon, Monday to Friday.
Demands include eliminating intermediate positions and fair salary adjustments.
Proposal to update salary tables for nurses to ensure equity with other health professionals.
Minimum services ensure urgent care continues during the strike.
The Portuguese Nurses' Union has called for a strike starting today in the Local Health Units of S. João and Santo António (Porto), Coimbra, and Santa Maria and S. José (Lisbon). The strike will last for two hours in the morning (09:30-11:30) and another two hours in the afternoon (16:30-18:30), from Monday to Friday, while ensuring minimum services are maintained.
The nurses are demanding the elimination of intermediate positions created by the 2019 decree-law, aiming to correct the relative position inversions among nurses. They seek to ensure that the upcoming legal framework on careers applies to all institutions within the National Health Service and all nurses, regardless of their contractual status.
Additionally, they want the salary table to be updated to ensure parity and equity with other health professionals, proposing that the starting salary for nurses be set at index 21, for specialist nurses at index 34, and for nurse managers at index 44.
The indefinite strike also aims to guarantee that, during the transition to the new salary table, all nurses retain their current positions in their respective categories. They are advocating for at least 35% of nurses to hold the specialist title, pushing to eliminate unconstitutional limitations on career progression.
Defined minimum services will cover essential social needs, including all urgent care and non-postponable treatments for two hours, continuity of ongoing treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy, blood administration, and antibiotic therapy.
Comments