Senior doctors in the UK’s beleaguered National Health Service are threatening action over pay and pensions even as nurses and ambulance drivers called off their strike and entered into talks.
(Bloomberg) — Senior doctors in the UK’s beleaguered National Health Service are threatening action over pay and pensions even as nurses and ambulance drivers called off their strike and entered into talks.
Consultant doctors represented by the British Medical Association voted 86% in favor of strike action in a consultative ballot. The vote does not provide a legal mandate for strikes, but the BMA said it will walk out if the government doesn’t address their issues by April.
“The workforce crisis in the NHS is putting patient safety at risk as real terms pay cuts and punitive pension tax rules push doctors to consider reducing their hours or retire early,” Vishal Sharma, chair of the BMA consultants committee, said.
The latest strike call raises fears of another round of disruption at the NHS after ambulance drivers and nurses called off their action and entered into talks with the government over the weekend. The unions, GMB, Unison and Unite, said this move was possible after ministers put money on the table for the current financial year. To date, the government has insisted it can’t revisit raises for 2022-23 that were recommended by pay review bodies.
Along with pay, working conditions are also a hot topic of discussion in these negotiations with the healthcare system in the UK suffering from staff shortages as well as long waiting lists that built up during the Covid-19 pandemic and the seasonal impact of patients suffering from flu.
Junior doctors from the BMA and HCSA are gearing up for three consecutive strike days which will overlap the budget presentation by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt on March 15. Teachers will also walk out the same day with Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan criticizing teachers on Sunday for not taking up the same talks offer that health unions had accepted.
“In the interest of children & teachers I once again urge the NEU to come to the table” Keegan said in a tweet.
Private sector disputes over pay are also taking place but are getting resolved quicker, with higher pay rises on offer. Workers at the Drax power station in Yorkshire accepted a 16% pay rise after just one strike day, according to Unite.
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