Five nursing unions dig-in heels
Five nurses’ unions have signed a negotiating protocol with the ministry of health that included the revision of salary scales, but warned that they will not accept increases of less than €400 in the negotiations that are about to begin.
“Nurses will not accept pay rises of less than €400, in other words, less than two pay grades in their career paths. We made that clear today at the negotiating table,” Pedro Costa, president of the Nurses’ Union (SE), told Lusa after the meeting at the ministry of health yesterday.
The SE includes a platform of five union structures – which also includes the Independent Union of Nursing Professionals (SIPEnf), the Independent Union of All United Nurses (SITEU), the Democratic Union of Nurses of Portugal (SINDEPOR) and the National Union of Nurses (SNE) – which signed this negotiating protocol, i.e. the terms and issues to be negotiated between the two parties.
According to Pedro Costa, the proposal to update the salary scales is expected to be presented at the next meeting, scheduled for July 17, but unions have already communicated “the red lines they will not accept“.
There will be three more meetings between now and the end of July for the two sides to reach an agreement, said Costa, pointing out that there are other issues that unions intend to negotiate later, such as performance evaluation for the career and enhancement of the hard work and rapid wear and tear of the profession.
“Let’s hope that the ministry, at the next meeting, manages to effectively get where we want to go, because otherwise we believe the summer will be more chaotic,” he warned.
In addition to this platform of five unions, the Portuguese Nurses’ Union (SEP) also signed the negotiating protocol with the ministry of health yesterday afternoon, but regretted that the proposal for a salary scale was not presented.
This round to define terms of the negotiations also included one of the union structures representing doctors – the Independent Doctors’ Union (SIM) – which reached agreement on the negotiating protocol that includes the salary scales, a condition it had demanded at a previous meeting.
In a joint statement, the ministries of health and finance said that the protocol signed with SIM included issues such as the integrated performance management and evaluation system in the public administration (SIADAP), work organisation, training and pay scales.
The protocols negotiated with nurses include issues linked to the nursing career, specifically the pay scale, the issue of organising working time and “other matters already identified by these unions”.
“I had no doubt that we would agree on a protocol. Both the government and the doctors and nurses really want to be part of the solution. All the meetings have taken place with success, dialogue, good faith and a sense of responsibility,” said health minister Ana Paula Martins, quoted in the statement.
Negotiations will begin in July.
LUSA
