The national private healthcare strike was called on Friday 17 April 2026. The unions FP Cgil, Cisl FP and Uil Fpl denounce the blocking of contract renewals in a crucial sector for the health of citizens. The mobilization will involve around 300,000 professionals, including doctors, nurses and OSS, ready to fold their arms to demand adequate protection. In addition to the strike, a large demonstration is also planned in Piazza Santi Apostoli in Rome, from 9:00 to 13:00.
The request is for decent wages and respect for human and labor rights in a sector that generates record profits, but which does not invest in human capital. For the unions, the numbers are unsustainable: a nurse in the private sector today earns on average 500 euros less per month than a colleague employed in public structures. The protest does not only concern the economic aspect, but also the dignity of a sector under pressure, openly denouncing the phenomenon of contractual dumping.
Private healthcare strike on 17 April
Among the sectors that take to the streets with requests for contract renewal, increase in salaries and dignity of work is that of private healthcare. Italy stops for the national private healthcare strike on 17 April 2026. The sector unions have called for around 300,000 professionals including doctors, nurses and workers in the sector to mobilise.
Services managed by private individuals are at risk, from specialist visits to diagnostic tests. The mobilization will have its focus in Piazza Santi Apostoli in Rome. Here, the unions and workers in the sector will demand full respect for human and labor rights in a fundamental area for the maintenance of the national health system.
The protest in the square will begin at 9:00 am and end at 1:00 pm, with speeches from national representatives.
Record profits but stable salaries
The mobilization is based on numbers that the unions define as “unsustainable”. Although employers’ associations complain about penalties in their relations with the public, the financial statements tell a different reality. In 2023, the sector’s net turnover reached 12.02 billion euros, marking an increase of +15.5% compared to 2019.
Then there is the figure for net profits, which doubled in just one year to reach 449 million euros. A financial solidity which, according to the unions, does not translate into a redistribution towards employees. An emblematic case is that of the salary of a nurse, who receives on average 500 euros less per month than a colleague from the public, as stated in the union notes.
The National Federation of Nursing Professions Associations intervened on the point, underlining that there cannot be series A and series B nurses. The protest then concerns the very dignity of the sector, which constantly operates in conditions of strong psychophysical pressure.
Contracts to be renewed
The unions denounce a system in which business risk is reduced to a minimum thanks to public funding, in the face of collective agreements that have expired for too long.
Some critical examples:
- private healthcare: contract firm for eight years;
- RSAs and rehabilitation centres: renewals blocked for 14 years.
Then there is the serious problem of contractual dumping, i.e. the use of agreements signed by non-representative groups which lower protection and salaries. The unions speak of a social emergency, as the living conditions of workers who are no longer able to cope with the increase in the cost of living worsen.
What are the unions asking for?
For these reasons, the organizations propose a thorough review of the accreditation system. A structural reform is required that limits the provision of public funds to rigorous respect for workers’ rights.
The proposal is divided into these points:
- stringent accreditation criteria, i.e. linking regional funding to the obligation to renew contracts with the same deadlines as the public sector;
- checks and inspections, therefore increasing checks in the workplace to ensure compliance with operational standards and staff safety;
- stop “pirate” contracts, for example with the elimination of agreements signed by organizations without real representativeness which damage fair competition;
- equal pay, therefore definitively closing the 500 euro gap that penalizes the 65,000 nurses employed in the private sector.
