Ana Rita Cavaco was speaking to journalists at the end of a ceremony to welcome 60 new nurses to the National Medical Emergency Institute (INEM), which provides emergency medical and ambulance services to the Portuguese population.
According to Cavaco, the issue is related to hundreds of nurses throughout the country who work in six specialised areas, but are paid as if they were not specialised.
Cavaco also said these nurses “are tired” of working in a specialised area [without recognition] and have told the Association that they plan to stop doing so as of July.
One of the most crucial situations is obstetric nurses, who staff most maternity and delivery units, which may have to close if the nurses refuse to work there without receiving payment as specialists.
The Association supports the protest, Cavaco said, and noted that the hospital boards were not in a position to penalise nurses who refuse to work under these conditions.