Thousands of nurses protest in Barcelona amid indefinite strike

Nurses in Catalonia have once again taken to the streets to demand better working conditions and recognition for the profession.   

Thousands of people - 3,500 according to Barcelona's local police and 6,000 according to the union Infermeres de Catalunya - marched through the center of Barcelona on Saturday morning.  

Under the slogan "A government that does not invest in its nurses is a government that condemns them to exile", the nurses marched from Diagonal Avenue to the Estació de França train station. 

The demonstration took place one month after the beginning of the indefinite strike that started on December 12. 

Indefinite strike to continue

The Infermeres de Catalunya nursing union said on Friday it will continue strike action that started a month ago until the Catalan government implements a salary increase.  

The union said it appreciated the efforts from the Catalan health department, but that they would not call off their strike while waiting for Spain's Ministry of Health to reclassify their profession and thereby facilitate a pay rise.   

The union is asking for a salary top-up that would bring nurses in line with A1 salaries until formal reclassification occurs.