“Junior Doctors” equivalent in United kingdom Resident doctors began a six-day strike in England on Wednesday (3), the longest in the history of the British public health system, to demand a pay rise.
These professionals, who had already stopped for three days before Christmas and carried out other strikes in recent months, decided to press again due to disagreement with the union. Conservative government. According to the UK government, 88,000 medical appointments were canceled during the three mobilization days in December.
The Times estimates that more than 200,000 consultations will be affected by this new movement. Hamish Payne, a 30-year-old doctor who protested outside St Thomas' Hospital in central London on Wednesday, said: “There will be no more doctors” if the government does not agree to a salary increase.
The strike of “junior doctors”, numbering about 70,000 in England, began at seven in the morning on Wednesday (four in the morning in Brasilia) and will end next Tuesday at the same time. This latest mobilization, which affects England only, is occurring at a time when the UK's public health system, the NHS, is struggling to accommodate huge patient waiting lists.
Although the British government expressed interest in continuing negotiations, the NHS expressed concern about the consequences of striking in the middle of winter (summer in the Northern Hemisphere) and after year-end celebrations. “This measure will not only have a significant impact on planned care, but will also add to a range of seasonal pressures such as Covid, flu and staff absence due to illness, impacting the way patients are cared for in hospitals,” he warned. Director of the NHS in England, Stephen Powis.
“January is the busiest time of year for the NHS, so these strikes will have a significant impact on our healthcare system,” Health Minister Victoria Atkins criticized on Wednesday. According to the British government, a “junior doctor” earns around £32,000 (R$197,596 at current exchange rates) during the first year of training..
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Long negotiations
“After five weeks of intense negotiations, the government has been unable to provide an acceptable salary offer,” the British Medical Association (BMA) announced in early December, in a statement announcing the new mobilization.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday that the government would be ready to talk, but to do so, the group must “stop punching.” According to the Moroccan Medical Association, to which about 46,000 “junior doctors” belong, salaries in this category have decreased by approximately 25% since 2008.
These professionals have been offered a 3% increase, on top of the 8.8% increase already granted a few months ago, but according to the BMA, these proposals are not enough given the increase in the cost of living in the UK.
Sunak described the strike as “extremely disappointing”, noting that “junior doctors” were now “the only” civil servants not to have a strike pay agreement signed.
The United Kingdom has witnessed numerous strikes since mid-2022, due to the loss of purchasing power in the country. The annual inflation rate exceeded 10% for a long time, then recently declined to 3.9%.
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