The management of the Algarve Local Health Unit has accused the Portuguese Nurses Union (SEP) of lying in the arguments used to call a strike in the region's health units.
The SEP called a strike by nurses at the Algarve Local Health Unit (ULS) for the payment of retroactive payments since 2018, holidays and weekly rest days and, when questioned by Lusa news agency, the administration of the unit, which includes the public hospitals of Faro, Portimão and Lagos and the Central, Barlavento and Sotavento Health Center Groups, considered that there were no reasons to justify the stoppage.
“We were astonished to receive this strike notice from the SEP, considering that the Human Capital Service has been working hard and holding regular talks,” said the Algarve ULS administration, accusing the union of “lying” in its justification for the strike.
The strike is scheduled for Friday 2nd May, from 8:00 to 24:00, and also covers the period between 8:00 on May 8th until 24:00 on the May 9th, but the administration accuses the union structure of lying when it says that it has been “waiting for a new meeting since February 19th, when there was a meeting on March 17th”.
“Regarding the 'payment of retroactive amounts due since 2018 to all nurses', the current legal framework only allows payment with effect from January 1, 2022, a situation that is practically concluded (the pending situations result from validation of information from other institutions), which will be processed in May, a commitment made by the current Board of Directors at the meeting with the nurses' representatives”, responded the administration.
Regarding the payment of holidays worked at 200%, requested by the nurses, the administration invokes “the applicable legislation, Decree-Law No. 62/79 of March 30”, which “provides for compensation for work on holidays, but does not specify payment at 200%”.
“There is no Collective Labor Agreement (ACT) in force at ULS, or any other regulatory provision that establishes payment at 200% for nurses who work on holidays or mandatory weekly rest days."
Another of the SEP's demands is the attribution of the “Good” classification to “all nurses”, however, the administration guaranteed that this demand does not appear in the legal strike notice, but only in the information that the SEP releases to the media.
According to the Algarve ULS administration, “the SEP knows that it is illegal and that is why it did not include it in the advance notice”.
The health unit's administration also refutes the SEP's requirement for “a fair application of performance evaluation”, claiming that it “not only agrees” but has determined the application, in 2025, of the integrated management and performance evaluation system in administration (SIADAP) “to the nursing career (as to other careers) in the correct way, that is, with the definition of skills and objectives”.
The hospital administration also refused to accept the union's demand “not to appeal court decisions favorable to nurses”, justifying the decision with the obligations that managers have with “legality” and the “public interest” in fulfilling their duties.
“In short, there do not appear to be any real reasons to justify this strike, opportunistically scheduled for Friday, after a holiday and the following Thursday and Friday”, concluded the administration of the ULS of Algarve.
The strike begins at 8:00 am on Friday 2nd May and the SEP has called a press conference for that day, at 11:00 am, at the door of the Faro hospital, appealing to professionals to join in given the lack of responses to their demands.
