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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Health & Science

Paraguayan doctors confirm new strike as authorities rush to seek agreement

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Ongoing story
  • Public-sector doctors in Paraguay confirmed a Sept. 21-22 strike over pay increases while the government and Congress seek to avert the walkout during debate on the 2027 budget.
  • The doctors rejected an earlier salary proposal as insufficient but said they remain open to a new plan if it raises the base pay for all physicians.
  • Doctors are seeking an increase of 3 million guaraníes, which would lift the monthly salary floor to 8 million guaraníes, while the dispute also includes demands for supplies, medicines and permanent appointments.

Paraguay's public-sector doctors have officially notified the Labor Ministry that they will strike on Sept. 21 and 22 unless their demands for higher salaries are addressed. The announcement came as government officials and lawmakers worked to find a formula that could stop the walkout.

Rossana González, secretary-general of the National Medical Union, said the union had opened a more formal negotiating channel through the Labor Ministry. "Our objective is not to reach a strike, but for this problem to be resolved," she said.

Today an official channel is open, another more formal channel for negotiating with the intermediary, which would be the Labor Ministry. I repeat, our objective is not to reach a strike, but for this problem to be resolved.

· Rossana GonzálezThe union leader described negotiations while confirming the planned strike.

Doctors called the strike after rejecting a government proposal based on a career scale that would give higher payments to workers with more training and years of service. They described the offer as "crumbs." The Health Ministry presented another proposal on Tuesday, but officials did not disclose its details.

We are not closed to any proposal.

· Rossana GonzálezShe said doctors could consider a new government offer if it addressed their salary demands.

González said the union was not closed to any proposal, including a career scale, provided it also raised the basic salary for everyone. The Senate has joined the effort through a bicameral commission examining the 2027 general budget. Senator Lilian Samaniego said health officials and technical staff from the budget commission were working together, raising hopes that the planned strike could be avoided.

The planned stoppage would follow a strike from Aug. 24 to 28. Doctors also demanded hospital supplies and medicines, permanent appointments for about 9,000 temporary professionals, and other labor benefits. Public-sector doctors currently earn at least 5 million to 5.4 million guaraníes per month, depending on their contracts. They are seeking an additional 3 million guaraníes, lifting the base to 8 million.

For the first time, through the human resources director of the Health Ministry and technical staff from the Bicameral Budget Commission, they are working together, and with that comes the hope that the strike on Sept. 21 and 22 will not take place.

· Lilian SamaniegoThe senator described the joint effort to avert the walkout.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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