Junior doctors in Wales have initiated a three-day strike in the continuing battle over pay, with 3,000 members of the British Medical Association (BMA) expected to withhold services, leading to postponements of many planned operations. This marks the second such industrial action since January that has seen doctors protesting about a reduction of around one-third in their income over the past 15 years. The Welsh government says that its offer of 5% represents all that is feasible. Of 4,000 junior medics working in Wales, around 40% are involved in the stoppage, with almost a quarter of them employed by Cardiff and Vale health board.
Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu, co-chairman of BMA Cymru’s committee for junior doctors, criticised the government’s attitude, describing its leaders as “in denial”. Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, he stated that: “We’re going to continue to strike until Welsh government moves on its position. They’ve deliberately and consciously cut up pay year after year after year, to the point now where doctors are earning just £13.65 per hour while looking after hundreds of patients…This is a mess that they’ve created and they need to fix”.
The acting leader of the Welsh Conservative Party, Andrew RT Davies, supported the doctors, stating that their concerns had been “brushed to one side”. He also said that “the workforce crisis will escalate, fewer patients will receive treatment, and we will continue to see more strikes on our frontline workers if the Welsh Labour Government refuses to listen to their concerns and takes action”.
The strike began on 27 October at 07:00 GMT and will end three days later at the same time. A high proportion of doctors in Wales work in hospitals, including those performing highly specialised procedures such as transplants and neurosurgical treatment; as a result, there will be a significant impact on these services. The Health Minister of the Welsh government, Eluned Morgan, said that she was aware of “the strength of feeling about our 5% pay offer”, but pointed out that “our offer is at the limits of the finances available to us and reflects the position reached with the other health unions” and that “we will continue to press the UK government to pass on the funding necessary for full and fair pay rises for public sector workers”.
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More