Ministers have attacked the timing of the junior doctors’ strike in England called by the British Medical Association.Talks only resumed in mid May – with the help of independent mediation.This was the first time the two sides had sat down officially since the BMA walked out of the previous round of talks at the start of December.In theory, these negotiations could have continued during the election period, but with both ministers and civil servants occupied by the election and the prospect of the Tories not even being in power post 4 July it is hard to see what would have been achieved over the next month or so.At the same time, the independent pay review body for doctors is considering what pay rise to recommend for this financial year.Last year junior doctors were given an average of nearly 9% – and another 3% on top was being discussed when the BMA walked out of the talks in late 2023.So why strike now? Officially the BMA says it is to get the prime minister to come forward with a fresh offer in the next few weeks before the walkout.But, of course, if that doesn’t happen it also has the effect of ensuring whoever wins power in the election is under immediate pressure to try to find an end to the dispute. …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnMinisters have attacked the timing of the junior doctors’ strike in England called by the British Medical Association.Talks only resumed in mid May – with the help of independent mediation.This was the first time the two sides had sat down officially since the BMA walked out of the previous round of talks at the start of December.In theory, these negotiations could have continued during the election period, but with both ministers and civil servants occupied by the election and the prospect of the Tories not even being in power post 4 July it is hard to see what would have been achieved over the next month or so.At the same time, the independent pay review body for doctors is considering what pay rise to recommend for this financial year.Last year junior doctors were given an average of nearly 9% – and another 3% on top was being discussed when the BMA walked out of the talks in late 2023.So why strike now? Officially the BMA says it is to get the prime minister to come forward with a fresh offer in the next few weeks before the walkout.But, of course, if that doesn’t happen it also has the effect of ensuring whoever wins power in the election is under immediate pressure to try to find an end to the dispute. …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
