Greek nurses protest new legislation regarding professional status

Nurses within the National Health System (ESY) in Greece are protesting a recently passed bill, claiming it fails to establish a distinct and autonomous professional sector as requested. While Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis announced the legislation, representatives of the nursing staff argue that the new provisions do not create an independent professional framework.

The regulation introduces specific specialties, including PE Nursing ESY, TE Nursing ESY, and DE Assistant Nurses ESY, and maps existing positions to these new categories. However, the Panhellenic Nursing Trade Union Federation (PASONOP) maintains that these changes do not provide the necessary institutional and labor protections comparable to those held by physicians.

This dispute occurs amid ongoing personnel shortages in public hospitals and a decline in the profession's attractiveness to new students, with reports suggesting nearly half of nursing positions in higher education remain undersubscribed.