Europe, UK (Commonwealth Union) – Junior doctors in England made an announcement for new strike dates prior to the General Election and have stated that British PM Rishi Sunak is continuing to not take their demands for a roadmap to bring back pay that they claim was lost over the last 15 years.
The BMA’s (British Medical Association) junior doctors committee claimed that three months of negotiations between junior doctors and the Government.
Following the announcement of the General Election last week, the BMA said that they gave the Government a final opportunity to present an offer and avert the strikes. However, this opportunity has not been seized.
The association stated that as a result of this, the BMA’s junior doctors committee has decided to schedule further strike dates leading up to the General Election. A full walkout by junior doctors is set to begin at 7 am on June 27, 2024, and will conclude at 7 am on July 2, 2024.
The strike is set to cause much distress to the thousands of NHS patients, who are likely to be the main victims of the strike.
Dr. Robert Laurenson and Dr. Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee, indicated that they informed the Government that they would proceed with a strike unless discussions resulted in a credible pay offer. They further stated that for over 18 months, they have been urging Rishi Sunak to present proposals to restore the pay that junior doctors have lost over the past 15 years, amounting to more than a quarter in real terms.
However, the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt speaking to LBC slammed the actions warning of its impact for the NHS and said “Why are they causing all this misery if it isn’t because they’re trying to make a political point ahead of a general election? And personally, I think that is just the wrong thing to do to treat the NHS as a political football.”
