A new mobilization is being prepared at the Sassari University Hospital. The unions have confirmed two days of strike action on 8 and 9 October 2026, following a dispute that has now been ongoing for several months.
The stoppage could have consequences especially for non-urgent hospital activities, while the essential services required by law will remain guaranteed.
The protest comes after the general strike last 29 May, which involved AOU staff and management.
Why doctors and staff are protesting
At the heart of the latest position taken by the medical management unions is, above all, the failure to release the performance-related pay for 2023 and 2024.
According to the unions, payment of the sums is still on hold because of administrative and accounting issues between the Hospital and the board of auditors.
“It is no longer acceptable for administrative findings, procedural delays and internal disagreements to continue to fall on staff”, the workers’ representatives say, calling for the process required to certify and pay the amounts owed to be completed quickly.
A dispute that also concerns staffing levels and overcrowding
The economic issue, however, forms part of a broader mobilization.
When the strike on 8 and 9 October was called in July, the unions also listed among the critical issues overcrowded wards, staff shortages, stabilization and recruitment procedures, professional pay differentials and productivity.
The issue of pressure on the wards returned to the forefront several times during the summer. In August, the AOU itself acknowledged a period of heavy patient influx and announced measures to increase the hospital’s capacity to respond.
We also discussed this in our feature on overcrowded wards at Sassari’s AOU and patients being cared for on stretchers.
What happens to patients during the strike
The two days could lead to the postponement of appointments, tests and other scheduled services, but not to a complete suspension of healthcare.
During strikes in the National Health Service, the essential services and emergencies must in fact be guaranteed, in accordance with Law 146/1990 and sector agreements.
For the previous strike on 29 May, for example, the AOU ensured emergency services in the Hospital Pharmacy and Analysis Laboratory, while some scheduled activities were suspended or rescheduled.
To find out in detail which services will be affected on 8 and 9 October, it will nevertheless be necessary to await the AOU’s operational notice listing any changes.
October decisive for the dispute
Until the strike days, there is therefore still room for discussions between the AOU, auditors and trade unions.
On 9 September, the Hospital announced an initial update on another issue disputed by the healthcare management, postponing to 31 December 2028 the deadline for recovering excess hours worked.
On the issue of performance-related pay, however, the unions believe that sufficient progress has still not been made. Unless new agreements are reached in the coming weeks, the protest will therefore return to Northern Sardinia’s main hospital hub on 8 and 9 October.