Andorra SAAS Secures New Collective Bargaining Agreement with Salary Boosts

The Servei Andorrà d’Atenció Sanitària (SAAS) has received final approval for its new collective bargaining agreement after a six-month administrative process. The Department of Labour granted its endorsement on Wednesday, allowing the deal—initially backed by nearly 90% of staff in a September vote—to take immediate effect.

Economic improvements, including salary increases for lower professional categories, recovery of performance-based pay (DPO), higher rates for on-call duties, and a public pension plan, apply retroactively from 1 January 2026. Other changes, such as a minor adjustment to working hours to align with international standards and an intensive workday to aid work-life balance, are now active. The agreement runs until 2030 and introduces a career progression system with four levels (A to D), tied to seniority, merit evaluations, training, and competencies like teamwork and patient focus. Advances require at least five years per level and approval by dedicated committees.

Signed by ten negotiators—led by SAAS economic director Luis Buendía and workers' committee president Eva Font—the pact followed reviews by Intervention, Public Function, and Labour Inspection. The committee expressed satisfaction, noting the negotiations proceeded swiftly despite drawn-out bureaucracy. A staff information session is scheduled for next Monday around 8pm in the hospital auditorium to detail content and address questions.

The Unió Sindical d’Andorra (USdA) healthcare branch described the deal as a step forward for working conditions and system organisation but a "minimum" agreement that does not benefit all groups equally. It highlighted unchanged base salaries, deemed outdated against living costs and job responsibilities, despite the SAAS's €3.4 million surplus last year. The union criticised the signing by only five committee members each from staff and management, reflecting incomplete consensus, and a negotiation system limiting input from all eleven representatives. USdA called for urgent action on base pay and updating job descriptions, many unchanged since 2008, to correct mismatches in roles and remuneration. It views the pact as a starting point to enhance competitiveness against neighbouring countries.