Junior doctors are now striking over a single issue: reversing a real-terms pay cut of 26% since 2008
On July 13th junior doctors in England began a five-day walk-out from hospitals, including emergency departments. More than 46,000 junior doctors in England are members of themost were expected to strike. Consultants, doctors who have completed specialist training, will provide cover, before striking themselves for two days from July 20th.
. That so many are now walking out is indicative of an extraordinary moment in British industrial relations. It is also a sign of theFormed in 1832, the union has long been a thorn in the side of governments. The architect of the, Aneurin Bevan, decried it as a “small body of politically poisoned people”: to secure its labour he had to “stuff their mouths with gold”. Yet in recent years its members have grumbled that thehas been drained of its venom, more professional body than trade union.
No longer. The pressures of the covid-19 pandemic, soaring inflation and social media have transformed some geeky medics into fire-breathing unionists. The shift began in 2021, when activist doctors used a disengaged membership to their advantage. Co-ordinating online, they won elections to the’s highest council, as well as the junior doctors committee. Junior doctors are now focused on a single issue: reversing a real-terms pay cut of 26% since 2008.
In purchasing-power parity terms, British consultants had the fifth-highest salaries of specialists in 28countries in 2020, at $155,000 . Hospital nurses, by comparison, ranked 23rd of 33 countries, with salaries of $44,000. Consultants have also benefited from a recent reform which gave tax breaks to those with large pensions. While most Britons still view doctors as pandemic heroes, only 46% back consultants striking, according to a recent poll, compared with 58% for junior doctors.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline"Not too posh to picket"
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