What you need to know

Employees of public hospitals – and some private ones – are affected. Patients are advised to check whether their appointments are affected.

A leading union has filed a strike notice for public hospital workers that will last a week later this month, after a first round of strikes ended on July 4.

The health professions branch of the CGT (Confédération Générale du Travail) submitted a request for the dates July 12 to 18.

It applies to employees of public hospitals, the Etablissement Français du Sang (organisers of blood donations) and employees of private hospitals, some of whom are involved in public health care.

On strike days, scheduled appointments at the above services may be affected. It is recommended that you call the relevant station or office shortly before the appointment to check that you are not affected.

Since hospitals are essential public institutions, a minimum level of services must be guaranteed even during strike periods.

However, unlike some other public services, healthcare workers are not required to publicly announce how many people are striking before strikes begin. This means that the exact scale of strikes may not be known and changes daily.

In addition, “striking” health care workers often still care for patients but participate in other ways, such as disrupting hospital administration.

Read more: UPDATED: Strikes in France in July 2024 and how you may be affected

Claims remain unchanged

The notice – which you can view as a downloadable document here – contains the same demands and requests as those made during the last round of strikes in public hospitals, which took place from June 28 to July 4.

The most important requirements include:

• Preventing further closures of 24-hour emergency services

• Preventing the closure of further hospital beds and reopening of already closed rooms

• Creation of local health centres, especially in rural areas

• Equipping local hospitals with facilities for the elderly and improving home care for sick elderly people

In addition, the union is demanding improvements in working and wage conditions for employees. These include:

• A minimum wage of at least 2,000 euros gross per month for all medical staff

• The end of performance-related pay

• A recruitment drive to employ an additional 200,000 people in nursing homes and 100,000 more in hospitals.

• More permanent contracts (CDI) for health workers

• Early retirement for some healthcare workers

Read more: Letters: In parts of France, patients have to wait six months for a doctor’s appointment