“We are solid”—pay award unites profession in appetite for industrial action

The recent pay award by the government is likely to lead to industrial action by doctors.1 The BMA’s new chair of council, Philip Banfield, says that a doctors’ strike is “inevitable,” and opinion garnered by The BMJ in the days after last week’s pay announcement (19 July) would indicate that he is right.There is a strong feeling that doctors feel disrespected and undervalued. Their pay award is below par financially: it has fallen against the retail price index (RPI) by up to 30% since 2008. Furthermore, after the sacrifices that doctors have made in keeping services running throughout the covid pandemic and are continuing to make to tackle backlogs in elective care, they view the failure to deliver pay restoration as an insult.Here are some of the views.Sarah Hallet, co-chair, BMA UK Junior Doctors Committee“This was the government’s opportunity to show that they value the work of junior doctors and…
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