Thousands of doctors launch strike over pay and jobs in England
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Resident doctors picket outside the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Nov 14 as part of Britain's 13th walkout.
PHOTO: EPA
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LONDON - Thousands of British doctors in England on Nov 14 launched a five-day strike over pay and training posts, the 13th walkout by medics
The strike from 7am GMT (3pm Singapore time) by some resident doctors, those below consultant level who make up half the medical workforce of hospitals, was condemned by the Labour government’s health minister.
Mr Wes Streeting said the leadership of the doctors’ union, the British Medical Association (BMA), was “choosing confrontation over care”.
“This strike isn’t about fairness any more. It’s about political posturing,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
“We cannot and will not move on pay, especially not after a 28.9 per cent pay rise over the last three years and the highest pay award across the entire public sector in the last two,” he added.
The BMA argues that doctors still need a 26 per cent pay hike to restore their earnings to the real value they had two decades ago.
The union is also demanding an increase in training posts.
Doctors have complained that in some cases more than 30,000 doctors are applying for only 10,000 training places that will allow them to progress in their careers towards becoming a consultant.
The situation is leaving many doctors without a permanent job after years of training.
Britain remains in the grip of a prolonged cost-of-living crisis that has sparked strikes across the economy.
Groups including teachers, nurses, ambulance workers, lawyers, train workers and border staff have all walked out over the past 3½ years. AFP
