Britain’s winter of labour strikes continues as thousands of hospital doctors walk out
- The three-day strike by so-called junior doctors is the longest they have ever staged, even as the government insists the UK cannot afford inflation-busting pay hikes
- Doctors and nurses leaders have repeatedly warned that poor pay and conditions are driving UK-trained medical and nursing staff abroad
UK hospital doctors on Monday began a three-day strike over pay at the start of a week that will also see teachers, train staff and civil servants walk out, in the latest wave of industrial action.
The doctors say years of below-inflation pay increases mean they have effectively had a 26 per cent pay cut since 2008.
Ahead of the stoppage, the body that represents them, British Medical Association (BMA), launched an advertising campaign claiming a newly qualified doctor earned less than some coffee shop staff.
“Pret a Manger has announced it will pay up to £14.10 (US$17.13) per hour,” the ad said.
“A junior doctor makes just £14.09. Thanks to this government you can make more serving coffee than saving patients. This week junior doctors will take strike action so they are paid what they are worth.”
The strike by so-called junior doctors – a category of doctors who are not senior specialists but who can still have decades of experience – is the longest they have ever staged.
Cover will be provided by the senior specialists, known as consultants.
“I thought by being a doctor I would be able to achieve financial independence, but instead I am still completely dependent on others,” said Becky Bates, a recently qualified junior doctor in central England.