Spain sends healthcare reform to Congress despite medical union strike threats

Cabinet approval and parliamentary pathway

Spain's Council of Ministers granted approval on Tuesday, 1 September 2026, to the draft bill for a new Framework Statute governing healthcare personnel across the national health system. The initiative, led by Health Minister Mónica García, cleared its second reading at the cabinet level three months after receiving an initial green light in June. Government spokesperson Elma Saiz presented the text during a press conference following the council meeting, describing the legislation as a labor reform pending for 23 years to modernize the statutory framework enacted in 2003. The approved bill now heads to the Congress of Deputies for parliamentary debate, where it faces stated opposition from the Popular Party and Vox.

It represents a substantial improvement in basic conditions for all professionals and allows regulations to adapt to the present and future of the healthcare delivery model.

Working hours and shift reform

The draft statutory text was drawn up over nearly four years of negotiations between the Ministry of Health and union representatives. The draft approved in June includes measures to reduce the maximum working week to 45 hours, enact a professional reclassification, and introduce specific work-life balance protections for medical staff. A central change in the proposed framework is the abolition of 24-hour on-call shifts, establishing a replacement limit of 17 hours. Minister García voiced confidence that the reform would proceed through parliament as a broad country pact, maintaining that the provisions deliver substantive improvements to working conditions.

Medical union opposition and strike plans

The Strike Committee, comprising six medical organizations including CESM, SMA, Metges de Catalunya, Amyts, SME, and O'mega, declared that channels of negotiation with Minister García are completely exhausted. Union representatives accused the Ministry of Health of obstinacy for referring the text to the cabinet without reaching agreement with medical professionals. In a statement released on 1 September, the committee stated that the ministry allowed the summer months to pass without attempting a rapprochement, resuming the legislative process from the exact position established before the summer break. The organizations argue that core demands regarding professional classification, working hours, on-call duties, mandatory rest periods, recognition of professional peculiarities, and an independent bargaining forum remain unanswered.

Approving the project in the Council of Ministers does not mean resolving the conflict. The medical conflict remains open.

Regional friction and parliamentary battle

Physicians staged five weeks of strike action during the first half of 2026, recording variable levels of participation across different regions, before announcing plans in June for indefinite walkouts starting in September. Several autonomous communities have also objected to the bill, with regional health councillors demanding its withdrawal during Interterritorial Council sessions and urging the central government to restart drafting through consensus. The Strike Committee noted that agreements have been concluded at the regional level when political will was present, contrasting that progress with a national draft that unions say maintains discriminatory working hours for doctors. Union leaders announced they will lobby parliamentary groups directly, noting that several political parties whose votes are decisive for the government harbor critical positions on the reform.