Tens of thousands of junior doctors in the U.K kicked off a four-day strike on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.
The British Medical Association (BMA), the doctors’ trade union, is seeking a 35% pay raise to make up for what it says are years of below-inflation increases.
The union stated that newly qualified medics earn just 14.09 pounds ($17) an hour, the U.K. minimum wage is just over 10 pounds an hour, though salaries rise rapidly after the first year.
The strike by junior doctors, who form the backbone of hospital and clinic care in the National Health Service (NHS), is due to last until 7 a.m. on Saturday, April 15, 2023.
Junior doctors; those in the first years of their careers, make up almost half of all NHS doctors. Health service bosses say as many as 350,000 scheduled operations and appointments will be canceled during the walkout.
Senior doctors and other medics have had to be drafted in to cover for emergency services, critical care and maternity services.
Stephen Powis, Medical Director of NHS England, opined that the walkout “is going to be the most disruptive period of strike action that we’ve seen this winter, probably the most disruptive period of action in NHS history.”
Dr. Vivek Trivedi, Co-chairperson of the union’s junior doctors committee, noted that the walkout could be stopped if Health Secretary, Steve Barclay made a “credible offer” on pay.
The government says it is willing to negotiate if the strike is called off, but calls the 35% demand unaffordable.
A wave of strikes has disrupted Britons’ lives for months, as workers demand pay raises to keep pace with soaring inflation, which stood at 10.4% in February.
Nurses, ambulance crews, teachers, border staff, driving examiners, bus drivers and postal workers have all walked off their jobs to demand higher pay.
Unions say wages, especially in the public sector, have fallen in real terms over the past decade, and a cost-of-living crisis fueled by sharply rising food and energy prices has left many struggling to pay their bills.
Strike Puts Patients At Greater Risk
U.K Health Secretary, Steve Barclay disclosed that the strike is putting patients at “greater risk”.
Barclay accused organizers of timing the strike just after the Bank Holiday Easter weekend, a period when the NHS already faces increased demand and greater staff absence, “to maximise disruption”.
The British Medical Association disclosed that there were plans to pull doctors off picket lines if lives were in immediate danger. Under trade union laws, life-and-limb cover must be provided.
The junior doctors’ approach contrasts with recent strikes by nurses and ambulance workers, which saw unions agree to exempt certain emergency services.
However, the doctors claim that they are striking for patient safety as much as about pay, saying that current pay levels are affecting recruitment and leading to many doctors leaving the profession.
Dr. Emma Runswick, Deputy Chairwoman of the British Medical Association, disclosed that they are hoping this round of industrial action will be the last, but “we will continue” if the government does not move.
“This is not a situation where we are fixed in our position. We are looking for negotiations and Steve Barclay isn’t even willing to talk to us. He hasn’t put any offer at all on the table. If we want to start a negotiation, there has to be two sides in the discussion.”
Dr. Emma Runswick
Steve Barclay divulged that he had hoped to begin formal pay negotiations with the BMA last month but its demand for a 35% pay rise was unfair and would result in some junior doctors “receiving a pay rise of over £20,000”.
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