Union cautious about negotiations with health ministry

Over 100 healthcare trade unionists from across the country came together last month to discuss the staffing crisis in the sector. Neither the prime minister nor minister of health were able to take part but health ministry officials did attend and were taken to task over the government's failure to address the issue and its claims that there were too many hospital beds and too few patients. The trade unionists underlined the challenges of poor working conditions and pay that were contributing to recruitment difficulties and the continuing problem of emigration of trained workers.

EPSU affiliates FSP-UGT and FSC-CCOO, along with the CSIF union, met Antonio Beteta, secretary of state for public administration, on 14 July to discuss restarting social dialogue in the sector. The minister said that there were now some prospects to negotiate following some improvement in the economic situation. The unions want to ensure that a number of key issues are on the bargaining agenda such as the restoration of the cuts in pay and conditions that have been imposed in recent years. The unions are cautiously optimistic about these developments, recognising that the government may have