Why are health workers protesting in Spain?

The latest demonstration came just two months after at least 200,000 people took to the streets in Madrid in November 2022. The capital has been witnessing such protests ever since the coronavirus pandemic broke out around three years ago.

Why are health workers protesting in Madrid?

Health workers claim that under the government of the Popular Party, led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the funding of the public health care system in Madrid has been cut. They allege this has caused a severe shortage of resources and staff in public hospitals. Moreover, patients have to wait endlessly and their key “screening appointments such as mammograms are cancelled or rescheduled for months in the future”, according to France 24.

Speaking to the media, the unions that organised the January 15 protests said, “Madrid spends the least amount per capita on primary health care of any Spanish region even though it has the highest per capita income,” AP reported. They added that out of every two euros spent on healthcare in Madrid, one goes to the private sector.

Protestors allege that Ayuso for years has favoured private healthcare. The leader first came under criticism after she introduced a new model for non-hospital emergency health centres, which remained heavily understaffed. This became one of the chief reasons for protests last year because of “the excess workload, the endless appointments and a lack of time for seeing patients”, The Guardian reported.

How has Ayuso responded?

According to AP, Ayuso has claimed the latest protests are motivated by the “political interests of left-wing parties”, who want to defeat her in the upcoming regional elections in May.

Before this, during the November 2022 demonstrations, she had responded to her critics by saying that the protests weren’t held in the interest of the public healthcare system but rather to help the centre-left Spanish Socialist Workers’ party become prominent again.

Ayuso added, “It was held to find new far-left leadership for the Madrid region because of the collapse the Socialist party is going to suffer. If it had solely been a demonstration about public healthcare, don’t be in any doubt that two million madrileños would have attended.”

Are these protests happening only in Madrid?

According to several reports, strikes and protests in Madrid are set to spread across Spain, particularly in Catalonia, Valencia, Extremadura, Andalusia, Navarre and Aragon for similar reasons. Unions have announced different dates for the protests.

Notably, health workers have been protesting across the world due to overwork, underpayment and poor working conditions, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unionised health workers in the United Kingdom have announced to stage protests and strikes on January 18 and 19 to demand increased pay. Last year, the US, Germany and Turkey also witnessed similar kind of protests.