These are precisely the main demands that the medical profession has been pursuing for years. Aragón President Jorge Azcón described the agreement as "unprecedented." "Since healthcare powers were transferred in 2001, there has never been such an important agreement for medical professionals," he stressed.
To implement all these improvements, the regional government will have allocated €90 million from the Department of Health’s budget by 2029.
MAIN IMPROVEMENTS FOR DOCTORS
The agreement provides for a gradual increase in on-call pay for doctors working for the Aragonese Health Service. The aim is for the hourly rate for on-call shifts to rise by a total of €10 over three years: €4 more in 2027, another €3 in 2028 and an additional €3 in 2029. The increase will apply from January 1 each year and will also be reflected proportionally in on-call shifts worked on public holidays.
With this improvement, the Government of Aragón aims to bring on-call pay closer to that of other health services and reduce the gap between the amount paid for an on-call hour and an ordinary working hour. "Aragón will go from being one of the autonomous communities that pays doctors the least for on-call shifts to ranking among the five that pay the most," Azcón said.
Health Minister Ángel Sanz also explained that the amounts will be reviewed again in 2030 and, if Aragón falls below the average of the five mainland autonomous communities that pay the most for this type of work, the necessary increase will be applied to place it among the top five.
On-call pay will also improve once the 720 annual hours of supplementary working time have been exceeded. From that limit onward, on-site on-call shifts carried out at the workplace will be paid at 25% above the hourly rate for continuous care. This measure will enter into force on January 1, 2027.
The agreement also includes changes to the professional career framework. From 2027, Level IV will be recognized and paid to licensed healthcare professionals who meet the requirements. Payment will be phased in: 40% in 2027, 70% in 2028 and 100% from 2029. In addition, an extraordinary application process will be held in the second quarter of 2027 for those who have accumulated more than 22 years of service as of December 31, 2026.
ONE AND A HALF YEARS OF DEMANDS
The agreement follows four months of negotiations after a preliminary deal was signed last May, allowing the suspension of regional strikes that had taken place several months earlier. "What doctors and unions want is for citizens to be better served, to have increasingly shorter waiting times for care and for us to be able to provide quality care," said Mercedes Ortín, secretary-general of Cesm Aragón.
