The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced that junior doctors in England will go on strike from June 27 to July 2, just days before the general election on July 4.
This move is the latest development in a long-standing pay dispute between the junior doctors and the Conservative government.
The strike will involve junior doctors, who are below specialist and consultant level, and will be the latest in a series of walkouts over the past 18 months, including a six-day strike that was the longest in the history of the National Health Service (NHS).
The junior doctors are seeking a 35% “pay restoration” as a starting point, which they claim is necessary to keep up with spiralling prices amid high inflation and a cost-of-living crisis.
The BMA has stated that it is willing to negotiate, but the government has deemed their demands unaffordable given the current state of public finances.
In response to the strike announcement, Health Secretary Victoria Atkins accused the BMA of being unwilling to compromise and demanded that the Labour party condemn the walkout. Labour leader Keir Starmer, however, criticized the government for failing to reach a pay settlement with junior doctors, calling it “unforgivable”.
He expressed his desire to see the strike averted but acknowledged that a Labour government would need to work to resolve the dispute.
The strike is the latest in a series of walkouts across various sectors in recent years, as workers demand pay rises to keep up with inflation.
While many pay disputes have been resolved, the junior doctors’ strike remains outstanding, and its timing has added a political dimension to the dispute ahead of the general election.
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