ROME (Reuters) – Thousands of Italian doctors and nurses stayed at home on Wednesday to protest over their pay and conditions in the latest sign of malaise in the country’s struggling health sector.

Unions representing health workers say funds in the government’s 2025 budget are insufficient for necessary hiring and salary increases as Italy, like many European countries, has an aging population requiring rising levels of care.

Italy spends about 6.2% of gross domestic product on its national health service, well below a European Union average of 6.8%, and health spending per capita is the lowest among the Group of Seven wealthy democracies, according to data by Italian health think-tank Gimbe.

The three union bodies coordinating Wednesday’s strike, Anaao Assomed, Cimo-Fesmed and Nursing Up, said initial estimates showed up to 85% of workers had stayed at home, “which should make people reflect on the unacceptable conditions in our hospitals and the reasons for our protest.

A minimum level of essential health services is being maintained throughout the day.

Health Minister Orazio Schillaci said the government was “willing, as we always have been, not only to meet the unions but to try to resolve some of the problems on the table.”

Pledges to boost the public health service in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have not been kept and growing hospital waiting lists force increasing numbers of Italians to turn to private clinics for treatment.

The government’s multi-year economic plan published in October envisages public health spending remaining broadly stable at 6.2% of GDP through 2027.

Underscoring the difficulties facing many Italian hospitals, the southern region of Calabria has signed a deal to draft in almost 500 medics from Cuba over three years to help overcome a severe staffing shortage.

Giorgia Meloni’s rightwing government is facing a growing workers’ backlash as it aims to tighten public purse strings to bring Italy’s finances into line with EU rules after heavy post-pandemic spending programmes.

Railway workers will strike on Saturday and Sunday, and on Nov. 29 union confederations have scheduled a one-day general strike against Meloni’s 2025 budget which aims to cut the fiscal deficit to 3.3% of GDP from a targeted 3.8% this year.

(Reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Christina Fincher)