La recovery of the Professional Career in the Sescam It has become one of the major points of contention between the Government of Castilla-La Mancha and healthcare professionals. After more than a decade with this merit recognition system frozen, negotiations have reopened, but the proposals on the table still fall far short of staff expectations.
In the last weeks, thousands of workers from the Castilla-La Mancha Health Service They have taken to the streets in various provinces to demand real progress. While the regional government maintains that it has already begun the process of revitalizing the career path and enshrining it in law, the unions insist that the current offer is insufficient and unrealistic, and therefore maintain a busy schedule of protests.
A conflict entrenched since the 2012 shutdown
The origin of the conflict dates back to February 2012, when the Professional Career was suspended in Castilla-La Mancha during a period of budget cuts. Since then, the Sescam (Castilla-La Mancha Health Service) has been, according to the trade unions, the only regional health service that has not recognized new degrees to its staff in these 14 years, keeping the system at a standstill.
The race was established in the community in 2007 as a mechanism for to value experience, training, research and commitment of doctors, nurses, technicians and the rest of the categories. Through different levels, it allowed professional advancement and access to a financial supplement linked to career and proven effort.
The unions point out that, while they could understand the containment measures during the economic crisis, It is unjustifiable that in 2026 the situation remains deadlocked. In his opinion, maintaining the freeze means that tens of thousands of workers lack recognition that Yes, it is fully in force in the rest of the health services Spain.
This prolonged paralysis has generated a sense of comparative grievance, especially among those who have continued training, researching and taking on new responsibilities since 2012 without this having any impact on his professional career or his salary.
Growing protests in hospitals across Castilla-La Mancha
Given the lack of solutions for years, the organizations with representation in the Sescam Sectoral Committee CSIF, SATSE, USICAM, USAE, CCOO, CESM and UGT— they have launched a sustained schedule of protests in the main cities of the region.
In recent months, events have been held Large gatherings in Albacete, Toledo and Ciudad RealThe protests included marches around hospitals and chants directed at the regional government. In Ciudad Real, for example, attendees chanted slogans like "Page, listen, open the coffers," clearly expressing their discontent with the lack of recognition for his career.
The protests have not been limited to the doors of healthcare centers. The unions have also taken advantage of public acts of the regional government to make their demands visible and to remind everyone that, in their opinion, a professional career is a right that has been unjustifiably "frozen" for 14 years.
In parallel, they have organized information assemblies in hospitals such as the General University Hospital of Ciudad Realwhere the organizations have detailed the content of the Administration's proposals and their own counter-proposals, encouraging staff to maintain pressure on the streets until there is clear progress.
These gatherings, which already total three major joint events at the regional level So far this year, they are part of a common strategy: combining participation in the Sectoral Committee with constant mobilization to remind the regional government that the conflict remains open.
The regional government's initial proposal: a single degree and payments in 2027
On March 26, and after two years without formal dialogueThe Castilla-La Mancha Health Service convened a meeting of the Sectoral Committee with the unions to present a first draft of the professional career development plan. This meeting marked the official start of negotiations, although it left a bittersweet taste among the unions.
According to union representatives, the offer from Emiliano García-Page's government is based on to allow exceptional access to a single career level for the affected professionals, with the commitment to begin paying that supplement around March 2027.
For the unions, this proposal is “insufficient” for several reasons: after more than a decade of paralysis, They consider it insufficient to limit the reactivation to a single level And they reject the postponement of the economic repercussions for several more years. They demand power access more degrees at a minimum, and that the salary compensation be advanced.
Although the organizations acknowledge that simply opening negotiations is a step forward, they emphasize that There is no firm commitment yet. They also point out that many cases were left unresolved and unacknowledged in 2012. Therefore, they insist that the proposal must go beyond a partial and protracted gesture.
The regional government, for its part, has publicly stated its intention to reactivate the career and protect it by lawThey are developing a new regulation to govern the model and ensure its future stability. However, the details of how this will be implemented in terms of timelines, levels, and economic impact remain the main point of contention with the unions.
Negotiation schedule and second key meeting on April 14
At that same meeting on March 26, Sescam urged the unions to a new meeting for April 14with a commitment to further develop the initial draft. This meeting has become a key date for the organizations, who hope to arrive with a highly visible street mobilization.
Between assemblies, the unions' negotiating teams have been busy analyze in detail the document sent by the Administration They are already developing their own alternative proposals. In the case of the CESM-CLM medical union, a specific internal meeting of its Executive Committee has even been scheduled to establish a joint position.
During the recent demonstrations in Ciudad Real, spokespeople for CSIF, SATSE, USICAM, USAE, CCOO, CESM, and UGT reiterated that They will maintain the protest schedule until tangible progress is made.In fact, they have warned that if the regional government does not present a significantly improved offer by April 14, the escalation of protests will continue.
At the same time, the organizations wanted to make it clear that They remain open to dialogue. Their objective is not to create a blockade, but to reach an agreement that addresses the needs of all Sescam employees. For now, they are not considering an immediate general strike in the sector, although some groups, such as the medical union, have already promoted it. regional strikes in previous months with career advancement as one of their main demands.
In this context, April 14th is shaping up as a crucial moment to see if the negotiation is progressing towards a balanced agreement or if, on the contrary, a conflict that has already lasted more than a decade is prolonged.
CESM-CLM's minimum requirements: a closed calendar and extraordinary reactivation
Among the union proposals to unblock the situation, the document presented by CESM-CLM, the medical unionIn a specific meeting with Sescam, although the Administration did not present a new concrete offer at that meeting, the professional organization decided to register its concerns in writing. “minimum requirements” in order to be able to talk about a real reactivation of the race.
One of the central elements of this approach is the establishment of a binding implementation schedulewith key months already marked: June, October and November 2026. The idea is that the deadlines are not simply indicative forecasts, but firm commitments with start and end dates for the process.
Before June begins, CESM demands the convening and effective implementation of an extraordinary procedure that includes the start of the administrative recognition of the degrees corresponding to each professional, as well as the review of all pending cases that were blocked in 2012The resolution of that procedure should be completed before October.
Furthermore, the union proposes that the final recognition and official publication The updated grades will be published in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha before the end of November 2026. From their point of view, these milestones would provide legal certainty to workers and allow for clear planning of the budgetary impact.
CESM insists that these deadlines must operate as “a firm commitment to execution”That is, as a concrete obligation for the Administration, and not as a simple roadmap subject to changes or indefinite delays.
Commission for Monitoring and Regularization of Blocked Files
Another important point in the CESM-CLM text is the creation of a Monitoring Committee in which the union and other organizations have an effective role. This commission would be responsible for overseeing the entire process of the extraordinary reactivation of the professional career path.
Among the functions they propose for this body are: monitor compliance with the agreed schedule, resolve any interpretative doubts that may arise, ensure the homogeneity of criteria between the different Sescam managements and address any incidents that affect individual files.
The union document also calls for a extraordinary regularization of files that were blocked by Law 1/2012This would involve administratively recognizing the corresponding degree for these professionals prior to—or at least simultaneously with—the implementation of the new extraordinary procedure that is launched.
It is also proposed that elimination of a specific point of Resolution 09/09/2024 —section seven, point 4— which, according to CESM, introduces an unjustified limitation on the economic effects of the validation of career grades based on the date of recognition in the original health service. The union argues that this type of restriction violates the principles of equity and creates inequalities among professionals.
In parallel, a extraordinary, unique and exceptional procedure for the recognition of degrees that guarantees that, starting from the degree already consolidated and individually recognized, each professional can reach at least two additional degrees, provided that they meet the usual seniority and permanence requirements.
Economic impact and proposed payment terms
One of the most sensitive aspects of the negotiation is that of the economic effects of a careerThe Board's initial proposal places the start of payments in March 2027 for the extraordinary grade that would be allowed to be recognized, something that the unions consider excessively late.
CESM-CLM has put forward its own proposal: that the payment of the blocked grade and the grades recognized on an extraordinary basis This should be reflected in the January 2027 payroll. According to the medical union, this timeline would allow for an orderly execution from a budgetary point of view while also addressing the need to provide real economic effectiveness to the reactivation of the race.
The organizations representing all professional categories, for their part, have emphasized the importance of bring forward this collection horizonThey argue that, after 14 years without advancement, any proposal that involves waiting several more years to receive the supplement is difficult to accept for those who have already met the requirements of seniority, training and performance.
Although neither side has offered a firm figure on the cost of the retroactive updateThe unions estimate that the number of affected professionals —with at least five years of service— is around 37.000 in the whole of Castilla-La Mancha, of which about 6.000 work in the province of Ciudad Real.
With this data, the discussion on how to spread the economic impact of the measure over time has become one of the central points of the debate, especially in a context of regional budgets already committed and the requirement of financial stability.
What does the Professional Career path really mean for Sescam staff?
Beyond the figures and deadlines, the conflict has served to explain once again what exactly is the Career path in the healthcare field And why workers consider it a basic right. Unions define it as a system that allows professionals progress in their daily work based on their effort, involvement and results.
In practice, this model recognizes in a structured way those who They receive ongoing training, participate in research activities, and take on teaching duties. or they are particularly involved in achieving the objectives of their service or workplace. This involvement translates into the possibility of reaching higher levels within the professional hierarchy.
Each degree leap entails both a professional and curricular recognition as an added financial supplement, so the system also serves as an incentive for staff to remain motivated and up-to-date. From a union perspective, this helps to strengthen health servicesbecause it promotes individual improvement and, by extension, the improvement of the system as a whole.
In the case of Castilla-La Mancha, the organizations point out that the race was recognized by law in 2007 and that All other autonomous communities maintain some active model of this type. They therefore consider that the fact that it remains frozen in Castilla-La Mancha in 2026 means leaving the Sescam staff "at the back" of the National Health System in terms of professional recognition.
The trade unions insist that It's not just an economic issuebut also of dignity and motivation: for many professionals, the career block conveys the message that their additional effort is neither valued nor rewarded by the Administration.
The current situation of the professional career path within Sescam has thus become a symbol of restoration of rights and modernization of the healthcare system in Castilla-La Mancha. The solution that is finally agreed upon—in terms of deadlines, levels, payments, and retroactivity—will affect not only the workers' finances, but also their perception of the extent to which their daily contribution to the regional public health system is recognized.
