By Tony O’Reilly-
Junior doctors in England are set to strike from June 27 to July 2 in their ongoing dispute over pay, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced today. This industrial action marks the latest escalation in a long-running conflict between junior doctors and the government over pay restoration.
Dr. Robert Laurenson and Dr. Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the BMA junior doctors committee, expressed their frustration with the government’s lack of a credible pay offer. “We made clear to the government that we would strike unless discussions ended in a credible pay offer,” they said in a joint statement. “For more than 18 months we have been asking Rishi Sunak to put forward proposals to restore the pay junior doctors have lost over the past 15 years – equal to more than a quarter in real terms.”
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The BMA representatives criticized the government for failing to present an offer during recent mediation talks. “When we entered mediation with government this month, we did so under the impression that we had a functioning government that would soon be making an offer. Clearly no offer is now forthcoming. Junior doctors are fed up and out of patience.”
The junior doctors emphasized that the strike could still be averted if Prime Minister Rishi Sunak takes action. “Even at this late stage, Mr. Sunak has the opportunity to show that he cares about the NHS and its workers.
It is finally time for him to make a concrete commitment to restore doctors’ pay,” they stated. “If during this campaign he makes such a public commitment that is acceptable to the BMA’s junior doctors committee, then no strikes need to go ahead.”
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The impending strike is poised to put additional strain on the already burdened NHS, potentially disrupting services and delaying patient care. The BMA’s call for pay restoration highlights the broader issue of healthcare funding and workforce retention, which are critical to the sustainability of the NHS.
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