Isha Sesay
AMBULANCES across the Balearic Islands have called a strike over poor wages and working conditions.
The unions representing the health service (the UGT, CCOO and CGT) say they had been ‘forced to call a strike in the ambulance sector as multiple meetings with the government did not yield any results’.
Those working in the sector say their salaries have been frozen for more than three years and that they do not reflect the current reality of health transport.
The unions explain that these employees have been in the front line of the coronavirus pandemic for one and a half years and this has added more pressure to their work.
However, despite increased hours, workload and responsibilities there has been no change to their salary.
In a statement they said: “Our time and patience are running out, so we are left without choice to use all the tools we have at our disposal to reverse the years we have been subjected to a wage freeze.”
The three unions seek to achieve a ‘fair and dignified agreement’, which will award the professionalism of these front line workers with an improvement to both their salary and working conditions which should be more in line with the current health situation’.
The first strike will take place on September 28 and 30 from 11am to 1pm and 4pm to 6pm.
It will then continue for all of October 5 and if there still has not been any progress, there will be another full day strike on October 7.
This means that unless the government contract a private firm to attend to patients during these hours, there will be no ambulances working for the public health sector.
Earlier this year, Balearic president Francina Armengol had publicly thanked all those working in the health service for ‘their fundamental role in fighting the pandemic’.
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