The Health Bureau will meet on Friday with public-private cooperation as the main obstacle

Chaired by Health Counselor Alberto Martinez, the members of the Health Pact Bureau will hold their eleventh meeting in Bilbao this Friday, setting out the goal of reaching an agreement "with broad consensus." 

During the week, various political and trade union actors have expressed their disagreement with the document presented by the Basque Government at its last meeting, as they disagree with the participation of private companies in public health, some of which have decided to leave the table.

The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. with the participation of health agents, political parties, social and economic actors, in total some 30 social partners.

The issue of public-private cooperationhas been the subject of controversy in recent days.

Thus, on Tuesday, EH Bildu asked not to be "in a hurry" to close the pact at Friday's meeting, and to takethe necessary time to hold the "debate under the right conditions" with the aim of "unlocking the knot" of public-private relations and "implementing policies that serve to strengthen Osakidetza."

The nationalist party tabled an amendment to the document submitted by the Basque Government proposing various lines of action to 'strengthen the public health system'. On Thursday it became known from the Health Adviser that the group of experts has rejected this amendment. 

Sumar Movementhas already announced that it will not join a pact that "normalizes" the participation of private companies in public health. Congressman Jon Hernandez has warned that Sintre "will not accept a model that normalizes outsourcing, regardless of the percentage."

LAB  also reports that it will not support the Health Pact and that it will not be present at the meeting on Friday because during the process "there has been no will to address the profound changes that Osakidetza needs." In its opinion, at the meetings of the Health Bureau it has become clear that the Basque Government wants to "maintain the private business" of health and that "PNV, PSE-EE, PP and Confebask... prioritize the private business over the public."

Moreover, the People's Party also disagrees with the pact, believing that "it has fallen short on fundamental issues" and that, by introducing the demand for the Basque Country, the "ideological filter" over the public service has been prioritised. They say that they do not feel identified with the agreements and that "they will not be effective in solving the problems".

However, Councilor Alberto Martínez has been "optimistic" in the last few hours and has said that there is a chance of reaching a broad consensus this very Friday . "Public-private cooperation does not divide us, more than twenty actors agree." "Each agent will have to assess whether he feels comfortable with cooperation and will have to take a stand."