Thousands of junior doctors begin three-day strike in Britain
13 March 2023 - 18:17
bySachin Ravikumar and Natalie Thomas
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Junior doctors picket and shout slogans outside the University College Hospital in London, Britain, March 13 2023. Picture: CHRIS RATCLIFFE/BLOOMBERG
London — Thousands of junior doctors in England walked out on Monday in three-day strike that will disrupt patient care, as they protest over pay they say can work out at less per hour than a barista.
The strike is the latest involving staff at Britain’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS), following walkouts by nurses, paramedics and others demanding a pay rise that better reflects double-digit levels of inflation.
The NHS will prioritise emergency care during the strike, which could come at the cost of routine appointments, surgeries and even some urgent cancer treatments, NHS England national medical director Stephen Powis said.
“This is likely to be the most disruptive set of industrial action days that we've seen all winter,” Powis told Times Radio. “It is going to be a hard three days and it's going to be quite challenging.”
Junior doctors in Britain are qualified physicians, often with several years of experience.
The British Medical Association (BMA) trade union says starting pay for junior doctors can be as low as £14.09 per hour, which is 1p less than the top level of pay for a barista at British coffee chain Pret A Manger.
Junior doctors agreed in 2019 to an annual 2% pay rise as part of a four-year deal, but say that is now inadequate in light of much higher inflation. Last month, 98% of the nearly 37,000 who took part in the BMA’s strike ballot voted in favour.
Robert Laurenson, co-chair of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, said they had seen a real terms pay cut over the past 15 years due to public sector wage freezes.
“We’re just asking for that pay to be restored, and that looks like something like £19 an hour,” he said at a picket line in London.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to help end walkouts by health workers, which also hinder one his major priorities of cutting long waiting lists for treatment.
Health minister Steve Barclay on Friday invited the BMA for formal pay talks.
“We stand ready to have those discussions, and urge them to come and engage with us,” Barclay told reporters on Monday. “I don’t think a 35% pay demand is affordable.”
A broader wave of strikes in Britain, involving hundreds of thousands of public sector workers, comes at a time of pressured public finances and as Sunak’s government prepares to deliver a budget on Wednesday.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Thousands of junior doctors begin three-day strike in Britain
London — Thousands of junior doctors in England walked out on Monday in three-day strike that will disrupt patient care, as they protest over pay they say can work out at less per hour than a barista.
The strike is the latest involving staff at Britain’s state-funded National Health Service (NHS), following walkouts by nurses, paramedics and others demanding a pay rise that better reflects double-digit levels of inflation.
The NHS will prioritise emergency care during the strike, which could come at the cost of routine appointments, surgeries and even some urgent cancer treatments, NHS England national medical director Stephen Powis said.
“This is likely to be the most disruptive set of industrial action days that we've seen all winter,” Powis told Times Radio. “It is going to be a hard three days and it's going to be quite challenging.”
Junior doctors in Britain are qualified physicians, often with several years of experience.
The British Medical Association (BMA) trade union says starting pay for junior doctors can be as low as £14.09 per hour, which is 1p less than the top level of pay for a barista at British coffee chain Pret A Manger.
Junior doctors agreed in 2019 to an annual 2% pay rise as part of a four-year deal, but say that is now inadequate in light of much higher inflation. Last month, 98% of the nearly 37,000 who took part in the BMA’s strike ballot voted in favour.
Robert Laurenson, co-chair of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, said they had seen a real terms pay cut over the past 15 years due to public sector wage freezes.
“We’re just asking for that pay to be restored, and that looks like something like £19 an hour,” he said at a picket line in London.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to help end walkouts by health workers, which also hinder one his major priorities of cutting long waiting lists for treatment.
Health minister Steve Barclay on Friday invited the BMA for formal pay talks.
“We stand ready to have those discussions, and urge them to come and engage with us,” Barclay told reporters on Monday. “I don’t think a 35% pay demand is affordable.”
A broader wave of strikes in Britain, involving hundreds of thousands of public sector workers, comes at a time of pressured public finances and as Sunak’s government prepares to deliver a budget on Wednesday.
Reuters
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