The Portuguese Nurses’ Union (SEP) is maintaining the national strike scheduled for today, claiming that the class has “added reasons” to join the stoppage after the round of negotiations with the Ministry of Health.
“The proposal [presented by the government] continues to be inadmissible, intolerable and, for this reason, nurses will have more reasons to express their strong indignation with the strike on August 2,” the President of the SEP told reporters at the end of the meeting with Ana Paula Martins’ ministry.
According to José Carlos Martins, the Ministry of Health has proposed an increase of 52 euros in the salary scale for nurses.
In addition, in the salary scales for nurse specialists and nurse managers, the “government is proposing not to change any of the scales,” said the union leader, adding that the proposal does, however, provide for nurses who are currently in these categories to be able to make a “jump of one salary position”.


This proposal implies that, for “those who enter in the future, the economic value of the work of specialist and head nurses will remain exactly the same as it is today”, lamented the SEP president.
In the case of the Azores, according to the regional union representative, Francisco Branco, the Azorean nurses, in addition to the reasons stemming from the negotiations with the Minister of Health, have added reasons to join the strike called for today, between 08:00 and 24:00.
“One month after the publication of the ARA Budget, the Regional Government, in the person of the Secretary for Health and Social Security, still hasn’t scheduled a meeting with SEP-Açores to analyze/pay the debt owed by the Regional Health Service to the region’s nurses,” the union accuses.

in Diário dos Açores-Osvaldo Cabral, director

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