Five nursing unions signed a negotiation protocol with the Ministry of Health on Wednesday that included a review of salary scales, but warned that they would not accept increases of less than 400 euros in the negotiations that are about to begin.
“Nurses will not accept salary increases of less than 400 euros, that is, less than two salaries in their career. We made this very clear today at the negotiating table,” the president of the Nurses’ Union (SE), Pedro Costa, told Lusa news agency after the meeting that took place at the Ministry of Health.
The SE integrates 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 negotiation protocol, i.e. the terms and matters 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 the unions have already communicated “the red lines that they will not accept” in this negotiation.
Three more meetings will be held at the end of July to ensure that both sides reach an agreement on the salary scale, the union leader said, stressing that there are other issues that the unions intend to negotiate later, such as the evaluation and appreciation of professional performance. The hardships and rapid attrition of the profession.
“We hope that the ministry, at the next meeting, can actually get to where we want it, because otherwise we believe that the summer will be more chaotic,” warned Pedro Costa.
In addition to this platform of five unions, the Portuguese Nurses’ Union (SEP) also signed the negotiation protocol with the Ministry of Health on Wednesday afternoon, but regretted that the proposed salary scale was not presented at the meeting.
This round to define the terms of the negotiations also included one of the union structures representing doctors: the Independent Union of Doctors (SIM), which reached an agreement on the negotiation protocol that includes salary scales, a condition that it had demanded in a previous meeting.
In a joint statement, the Ministries of Health and Finance said that the protocol signed with SIM includes topics such as the Integrated Management and Evaluation System of Performance in Public Administration (SIADAP), work organization, training and remuneration tables.
The protocols negotiated with the nurses include issues related to the nursing career, specifically the salary scale, the issue of the organization of working hours and “other issues already identified by these unions,” they say.
“I had no doubt that we would agree on a protocol. Both the Government and doctors and nurses are eager to be part of the solution. “All meetings were held successfully, with dialogue, good faith and a sense of responsibility,” said Health Minister Ana Paula Martins, as quoted in the statement.
Negotiations begin during the month of July.
Source: Observadora
