The “junior doctors”, doctors in training or internship, started on Wednesday a six-day strike in England, the longest in the history of the British public health system, to obtain an improvement in their salaries.
These doctors, who had already stopped three days before Christmas, after having called other strikes in recent months, have decided to adopt a new pressure measure after the lack of agreement with the Conservative government.
This new struggle movement comes at a time when the public health system, the NHS (National Health Service), is collapsed due to gigantic waiting lists.
According to the British government, 88,000 medical appointments were canceled during the three-day strike in December and the newspaper Times The number of queries that will be affected by this new movement is estimated at 200,000.
The newspaper also estimates at one million the number of appointments canceled due to the strikes called so far by doctors in training.
“There will be no more doctors” if the government does not agree to raise salaries, said Hamish Bain, a 30-year-old doctor, who was part of a strike picket outside Saint-Thomas Hospital in central London on Wednesday. .
The young doctor added that many of his colleagues had emigrated to Australia and the United States due to low wages.
Young doctors protest with posters demanding better wages outside a London hospital. Photo: AFP The strike of ‘junior doctors’, around 70 thousand in England, began on Wednesday at 7 am and will end next Tuesday at the same time.
This last fighting move It only affects England.
Health policy is a responsibility transferred to the administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, while the British government has England under its supervision.
In Wales, junior doctors have announced a 72-hour strike from January 15, while professionals in Northern Ireland have also voted in favor of a possible strike and their Scottish counterparts have reached an agreement with the government in Edinburgh .
The impact of the protest
“January is the busiest time of year for the NHS, so these strikes will have a huge impact on our healthcare system,” Health Minister Victoria Atkins criticized on Wednesday.
The British government expressed its opinion on Tuesday willingness to continue negotiations.
Ambulances outside the emergency entrance of a London hospital. Photo: EFE “We are willing to have further talks, but obviously the first thing we need to do is stop striking,” a spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
According to the British government, a “junior doctor” earns around £32,000 ($40,640) during their first year of training.
“After five weeks of intense negotiations, the government has proven unable to present a credible wage offer”, explained the BMA (British Medical Association) doctors’ union in the press release announcing this new strike movement at the beginning of December.
According to the BMA, to which around 46,000 “junior doctors” are affiliated, Their real wages fell by almost a quarter since 2008.
Doctors in training were offered a 3% increase, in addition to the 8.8% increase already granted a few months ago, but according to the BMA union these proposals are not enough to cope with the increase in the cost of living in the United Kingdom .
Since mid-2022 the UK has experienced several strikes due to the purchasing power crisis. Inflation, which remained above 10% for a long time, stood at 3.9% on an annual basis in November.
Source: AFP
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.