The Hall of Mirrors inside the Palacio de San Telmo, seat of the Andalusian Government, recently welcomed the signing of the third social consultation agreement with trade unions and business leaders. Representatives from CCOO, UGT and the Andalusian Confederation of Businessmen stood united against the national backdrop where the CEOE warned that pension reform is difficult to push forward, and where the crisis-cost sharing agreement showed little progress. In Andalusia, President Juan Manuel Moreno, joined by the general secretaries of UGT and CCOO, Carmen Castilla and Nuria López, and the head of the employers’ association, Javier González de Lara, endorsed this pact, which reached about nine thousand people and involved a €9,000,000,000 allocation along with a special section dedicated to public health care amid ongoing protests in the region directed at health governance.
The negotiated deal includes a protective clause for its intended beneficiaries. It guarantees that 25% of the Andalusian Healthcare (SAS) Budget is allocated to primary care, with a guaranteed allocation of 3,370 million euros. The CCOO leader indicated that the agreement commits Andalusia to defend public health, especially in scenarios highlighted by the pandemic and decisions taken by the Community Government.
The document also aims to limit the use of private health care contracts to emergencies and clearly defined exceptions. López added that this cap is a precise response to the exceptional circumstances. It revisits an already controversial order issued by the Ministry of Health that permits private insurance-funded hospital and primary care facilities to interact with doctors. It asserts that public facilities will not be utilized by private companies, according to the CCOO leader. The Andalusian president reiterated that health care in the region remains universal, public, and free. Protests organized by CCOO, UGT and CSIF continued with a planned rally on Thursday (March 16). The unions vowed not to ease pressure until the government reconsiders the order and the agreements signed by the Andalusian president are reflected in policy.
The document states an “Andalusian agreement for primary care” and includes a commitment to protect non-outsourcing of primary health care, except in health emergencies beyond the public service remit. This means that any publicly funded infrastructure, diagnostic tool, or health service must be used exclusively through the Andalusian public health system. The text, described as a broad shift, was published in the Official Journal of the Andalusian Junta (BOJA) and later corrected, prompting unions to demand a reconsideration.
The Andalusian president acknowledged that signing this third social agreement is timely given the current climate, which makes its value more pronounced. He framed it as a shared response from Andalusia amid uncertainty and hardship, praising unions and employers for their vision and responsibility. Moreno noted that looming May elections heighten attention and emphasized plans for an immediate youth employment initiative alongside the health accord.
Moreno had previously urged the unions last November, when economic and social agencies resumed negotiations with the Andalusian Government as tensions rose over health governance. The core dispute centered on the renewal of 12,000 non-extended COVID-19 contracts. Subsequently, the administration pledged to renew its entire cadre of doctors and nurses with contracts ranging from six months to one year. The latest decision to regulate the use of private concerting in health care and to open the door for this model in primary care is fueling renewed conflict. A regulatory framework that drew the attention of the most representative Andalusian Medical Association had already reached an agreement with Salud to suspend protests after a formal commitment to reduce patient loads to a cap of 35 patients per day, 25 in pediatric care, through measures aimed at improving wages and job stability for health workers. The order, once fixed and now revised again, has disrupted the truce, and the Board is attempting to steer the policy in a new direction.