Nursing Assistants in Alicante to Strike This Friday for Professional Reclassification

On Friday, November 28, Nursing Care Assistants (TCAEs) from across Spain are set to participate in a 24-hour strike demanding their professional reclassification to subgroup C1, a demand that has persisted for over three decades. In Alicante, gatherings will occur in front of provincial hospitals between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm. The mobilisation, organised by the State Platform TCAE United for C1, is supported by the Union of Workers' Union (USO).

Currently, TCAEs are classified under subgroup C2, a classification they argue does not reflect the required qualifications or the roles they perform within the National Health System. They assert that working as a TCAE requires a Medium-Level Vocational Training Technician degree, which, according to Article 76 of the Basic Statute of Public Employees, fits within subgroup C1.

However, they claim that this reclassification remains unimplemented, despite the Framework Agreement signed in 2022 between the Government and the unions CCOO and UGT, which unlocked the necessary legal framework to update professional groups. "The Administration and the autonomous communities have ignored this commitment, keeping us at a level that does not reflect our training or responsibilities," emphasises the organising platform.

Beyond the administrative debate, the group highlights their real role in hospitals, health centres, and specialised units. TCAEs provide direct patient care, support nursing and medical staff, participate in technical procedures, manage medical supplies, and uphold much of the basic care in diverse areas such as ICU, emergency, operating room, geriatrics, or rehabilitation.

In their message ahead of the protest, they highlight the physical, emotional, and human burden of their work: "We are the ones who care for, accompany, feed, wash, mobilise, and listen. We attend to the daily needs of those who cannot do so themselves. And we are often present in the final moments of life for those who have no one else by their side."

Tomorrow, hospitals in Alicante—like those across the country—will see TCAEs gathering to demand professional justice. The platform reminds that they have been participating in institutional meetings, demonstrations, and sit-ins for years without receiving a response. Therefore, the group considers tomorrow's strike a "legitimate, necessary, and now unavoidable" measure.