The majority medical union in the Community of Madrid, Amyts, has criticized the regional government's remuneration proposal for on-call duties and continuous care, considering it does not "meet the expectations" of healthcare professionals.
The union organization finds it "very misguided" that the Community of Madrid aims to reach the national average for these concepts. Amyts argues that the region, given its economic strength and high cost of living, should be at the forefront of medical salaries in Spain.
“"The fact that the objective is set to reach the national average in these concepts seems very misguided to us. Madrid should aim to lead and be the first in these remuneration concepts, not only because Madrid is the country's leading economy, but because the cost of living is well above the national average."
The union's general secretary, Ángela Hernández, stated that the increases proposed by the Ministry of Health, led by Fátima Matute, would have been positive "a decade ago" but are insufficient today. Amyts demands that on-call duties be recognized as overtime and paid at 1.75 times the ordinary hourly rate, considering the "peculiarity and high cost of living in Madrid".
The Ministry of Health announced that this increase is included in the Community of Madrid's Budget Law for 2026, with an allocation of 35 million euros, and would benefit over 60,000 healthcare and non-healthcare professionals from hospitals, primary care out-of-hours services, and SUMMA 112.
The proposal includes increasing the hourly rate for on-call duties for physicians, residents, and supervisors, as well as improving continuous care remuneration for nurses, nursing assistants, orderlies, healthcare technicians, and management and service staff working night and holiday shifts.
According to Amyts data, the on-call hour rate for specialists would increase from 24.99 euros to 28.49 euros on weekdays and from 27.36 euros to 31.19 euros on holidays. For Summa 112, the remuneration for 24 hours on a holiday would rise from 88.81 euros to 101.24 euros. Intern doctors (R1 to R4) would also see their hourly rates increased.
Amyts frames this assessment within the ongoing conflict for a specific Statute for doctors and physicians, demanding negotiations that recognize the profession's uniqueness, responsibility, and working conditions commensurate with the collective's training and demands.
