Doctors should enter talks with ‘reasonable expectations’ – Government
Junior doctors are in a bitter dispute with the Government over pay.
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Your support makes all the difference.A 35% pay rise for junior doctors in England is “not affordable, even over several years”, the Government has said as the bitter row over pay rumbles on.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has asked for the Government to “fully restore pay” with a 35% increase, but medics have said that the increase does not have to come “in one go”.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) appeared to rule out the request, as it urged the BMA’s junior doctors’ committee to “demonstrate reasonable expectations and be serious about doing a deal so that negotiations can resume”.
NHS commentators have implored ministers and the union to get back round the table urgently to break the deadlock.
Health leaders have warned the impact caused by the latest strike – the longest walkout in NHS history – could last for “months”.
A DHSC spokesperson said: “We want to see an end to damaging strike action and urge the BMA Junior Doctors’ Committee to demonstrate reasonable expectations and be serious about doing a deal so that negotiations can resume.
“Junior doctors have already had a pay rise this year of between 8.1% and 10.3% – but their demand for a 35% increase is not reasonable or affordable, even over several years.
“We have reached agreements with unions representing consultants and SAS doctors which are being put to members for a vote and we want to do the same with the BMA Junior Doctors Committee to find a deal that is fair and reasonable for all.”
It comes after medics announced plans to extend their mandate to strike.
The current mandate for junior doctors in England lasts until the end of February.
In a statement marking the end of the six-day strike, BMA junior doctors’ committee co-chairs, Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, said: “Junior doctors are ready to settle this dispute once and for all.
“Victoria Atkins on Monday evening said she’s keen to deliver a ‘fair and reasonable’ outcome. We are ready to talk about that fair outcome at her earliest convenience.
“No strikes are currently scheduled and now is her moment to come forward with a credible offer that delivers the reasonable outcome of pay restoration.
“Our mandate for strike action lasts until the end of February. We know from both our own experience and the experience of other professionals that our Government only seems to listen when we have a mandate for strike action.
“We will prepare to extend that mandate in case we need to strike in the future. But the Government does not have to let it get to the point of more strikes being called.”
The longest strike in the history of the NHS may be over, but the impact on the health service will be felt for weeks and months to come
NHS England’s national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: “Colleagues across the NHS have worked incredibly hard to keep patients safe during strikes, but that work doesn’t end today.
“The longest strike in the history of the NHS may be over, but the impact on the health service will be felt for weeks and months to come.”
The BMA has said junior doctors’ pay has been cut by more than a quarter since 2008.
Junior doctors in Northern Ireland are being balloted for the first time over potential strike action.
Meanwhile, junior doctors in Wales are set to stage a 72-hour walkout from January 15.
Medics in training in Scotland settled their pay dispute last summer.