New strike action has been announced by junior doctors in England. In response Peter Stefanovic has created a new video telling us why he is standing shoulder to shoulder with junior doctors.
They will undertake a 72-hour walkout in June after the government’s pay offer was labelled not ‘credible.’
The strike will take place between 07:00 on Wednesday 14 June and 07:00 on Saturday 17 June.
The British Medical Association (BMA) union, which represents doctors and medical students, said a government offer of a 5% rise was not “credible”.
Anti-strike bill
Onay Kasab from Unite the Union appeared on Sky News and told Kay Burley: “The govt’s anti-strike bill is unworkable, undemocratic & unnecessary… we have an ocean of crocodile tears from Tory ministers saying this is about patients safety… when they should be talking about safe staffing levels every day of the year.”
Junior doctors pay offer
Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairs of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee, said: “Since April’s strikes we have had three weeks of negotiations with the Government, seeking a deal that fully restores pay for junior doctors after the more than 26% drop they have suffered over the last 15 years.
“We entered these talks in good faith, hoping that after months of refusal by ministers to meet with us, we would finally see a real offer on the table that would avoid the need for more industrial action and stop the haemorrhaging of junior doctors from the NHS.
“In that time we have received an offer which is in no way credible or even reasonable for where we are in the negotiating process.”
BMA
A Government spokesperson said: “It is both surprising and deeply disappointing that the BMA Junior Doctors Committee has declared further strike action while constructive talks were ongoing. These will be hugely disruptive for patients and put pressure on other NHS staff.
“We made a fair and reasonable opening offer, and were in active discussions about both pay and non-pay issues.
“Unfortunately, it seems the BMA is unwilling to move meaningfully away from their unaffordable headline demands on pay.
“The Government has been clear that strikes must be paused while talks take place, so while the BMA has chosen to end our current discussions, we remain ready to continue them at any point if strikes are called off.”
Video
Peter shared the video.
Related: Watch: Tory ‘boll*cks’ over juniors doctors pay – Soap star lends support
