In a move of defiance, senior doctors in England have declared two additional days of strikes in August, rejecting a proposed pay deal. The British Medical Association (BMA), the doctors'
union, confirmed this decision on Monday, dismissing the government's announcement of a six percent pay rise as a "savage" cut in real terms wages.
Consultant-level doctors working within the National Health Service (NHS), which is publicly funded, will participate in strikes on August 24 and 25. These strikes come in addition to the previously scheduled strikes on July 20 and 21. The decision to strike serves as a demonstration of the failure of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's attempts to resolve months of industrial action across public services.
Last week, PM Sunak declared that the recent pay increases in the public sector would be the final settlement. He warned that these raises would come at a high cost, requiring budget cuts in other areas, and would not be open to further negotiation. While teaching unions chose to postpone strikes and accept the deal, doctors' unions remained unimpressed, citing years of pay erosion for their members.
Vishal Sharma, the BMA's consultants committee chair, stated, "The government has once again imposed a savage real-terms pay cut on consultants. In the face of a government intent on devaluing consultants' expertise and their lack of regard for the impact this is having on the NHS, we have been left with no choice."
The strikes planned for July will mark the first time consultants have participated in the current pay dispute, and they are likely to place significant pressure on the National Health Service. As a result of the strikes, most routine and elective services will be halted, but emergency coverage will remain intact.
In addition to the strikes by senior doctors, junior doctors in England, who make up almost half of the medical workforce and are qualified physicians, are currently in the midst of a five-day walkout. The British Medical Association has described this strike as the longest in their history. Photo by Archibald Tuttle, Wikimedia commons.