Junior doctors in England have threatened to stage a 5-day strike ahead of the country’s elections over their long-running dispute on matters concerning payment.
The British Medical Association (BMA) announced that the doctors will down their tools from 7am on June 27 until 7am on July 2 after the Government failed to give them a ‘credible offer’.
This is after talks between the medics in training and Tory ministers failed to yield positive results.
The BMA noted that it had given the government “a final opportunity to make an offer and avoid strikes” when Rishi Sunak called the election last week but “this opportunity has not been taken up”.
As such, the Junior doctors will stage a five-day strike in the run up to the General Election set for July 4.
BMA junior doctors committee co-chairmen Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said that they had been pushing for their proposals on credible pay offer for over 18 months.
The committee had made it clear to the government that they would strike unless discussions ended with their terms heard and put to action.
“We made clear to the Government that we would strike unless discussions ended in a credible pay offer. For more than 18 months we have been asking Rishi Sunak to put forward proposals to restore the pay junior doctors have lost over the past 15 years – equal to more than a quarter in real terms, “noted the committee.
Also Read: Doctors Sign Deal to End Strike After 56 Days
Junior Doctors Demands
They also pointed out that Junior doctors were fed up with the lack of action from the government despite the mediation that had taken place to help come up with an offer.
“When we entered mediation with Government this month, we did so under the impression that we had a functioning government that would soon be making an offer. Clearly no offer is now forthcoming. Junior doctors are fed up and out of patience,” they added.
According to reports, BMA requested a 35% pay rise, but ministers have deemed the claim unreasonable.
Speaking on the same note, Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive at NHS Providers expressed his remorse for the patients who would be vastly affected by the 5-day strike.
“This announcement marks a worrying escalation in the long dispute between the government and junior doctors. This strike will inevitably hit patients hard,” Cordery said.
Notably, the strike has been termed as the 10th one yet since their first one back in March 2023.
Doctor’s Strike in Kenya
Similarly to what is taking place in the UK, Kenyan doctors staged a nationwide strike which lasted for 56 days immensely affecting the healthcare sector.
Just like in the UK, the Kenyan medics were demanding better pay among many other concerns.
The doctor’s strike began on 13 March 2024 and ended on May 8, 2024.
This came following an agreement after a meeting between the doctors’ union and the Ministry of Health officials, Head of Public Service, National Advisory Council and the county government representatives.
Also Read: Intrigues Behind KMPDU Closed-Door Meeting &Why Doctors Didn’t Call Off Strike
Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Secretary General Davji Atella said that doctors signed the return-to-work formula after a series of negotiations that would pave way for medics to resume work within 24 hours from the time of signing the agreement.
“The strike that began on 13th of March 2024 has been called off. We have decided to take the government’s promises for the last time,” Atella stated.
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