Junior doctors in England are set to go on strike for the third time this year after negotiations with the government broke down. The strike, which will last for 72 hours,
is scheduled to take place from 14th to 17th June.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has already organized two previous walkouts, one lasting three days and the other lasting four. During the last strike, which lasted 96 hours, nearly 200,000 routine appointments and procedures had to be canceled. With a record-breaking 7.3 million people on NHS waiting lists, the healthcare system is ill-equipped to handle staff walkouts. The BMA has made it clear to the government that it intends to continue strike action for at least three days every month until their legal authorization expires in late August. Before that, they will need to ballot their members once again.
The junior doctors are demanding a full pay restoration of 35 percent. According to the BMA, this figure compensates for the 26 percent real-term pay reduction they have endured since 2008, in addition to inflation. However, Health Secretary Steve Barclay has offered a 5 percent pay increase to England's junior doctors, which the doctors' union has rejected as "not credible." Dr. Vivek Trivedi and Dr. Robert Laurenson, the co-chairs of the BMA's junior doctors committee, have been engaged in talks with the health secretary for the past three weeks in an effort to avert further strike action. However, discussions collapsed after Barclay reportedly refused to restore junior doctors' pay to 2008 levels.
In response, Trivedi and Laurenson stated, "The government failed to acknowledge the significant pay cuts junior doctors have endured. This became evident when they presented their pay offer of 5 percent. Not only does it fall far short of addressing pay erosion over the past 15 years, but it also fails to keep up with inflation this year."
The government has criticized the BMA for its refusal to compromise and called their announcement of further industrial action while talks were ongoing "surprising and deeply disappointing." A government spokesperson stated that it is "unfortunate" that the BMA is unwilling to move away from their unsustainable pay demands. The government has also indicated that a meeting with the BMA is planned for tomorrow, but Health Secretary Barclay will only engage if the third round of strike action is called off.
The health secretary is facing challenges on multiple fronts, as the BMA has initiated a ballot among senior doctors (consultants) regarding potential strike action due to pay and pension disputes. Furthermore, the Royal College of Nursing has commenced a second ballot among its members to secure a mandate for another six months of industrial action. NHS workers are going through a difficult time, and Steve Barclay will have his work cut out for him if he aims to sustain the health service. Photo by KJP1, Wikimedia commons.