‘We have no choice': Hospital doctors in England set to strike again over pay disputes
The move comes after the doctors accepted a pay rise offer totalling 22.3 per cent over two years last September, soon after Prime Minister Keir Starmer's new Labour government took power.
Announcing the fresh industrial action by resident doctors — those below consultant level — the UK doctors' union, the British Medical Association, said the government had left them 'no choice'.
'We met (Health Secretary) Wes Streeting yesterday and made every attempt to avoid strike action by opening negotiations for pay restoration,' said the BMA's Melissa Ryan and Ross Nieuwoudt, co-chairs of the resident doctors committee.
'Without a credible offer to keep us on the path to restore our pay, we have no choice but to call strikes,' they added.
The BMA doctors said the government had refused to negotiate on pay, 'wanting to focus on non-pay elements without suggesting what these might be'.
Accepting the government's pay offer last September, the BMA's resident doctors' committee hailed the deal as 'the end of 15 years of pay erosion with the beginning of two years of modest above-inflation pay rises'.
But they added: 'There is still a long way to go, with doctors remaining 20.8 per cent in real terms behind where we were in 2008.'
The doctors' strikes, which saw appointments cancelled and treatment delayed, were among a series of public and private sector walk-outs over pay and conditions as inflation soared.
The previous Conservative government had resisted the BMA's demands for a 35 per cent 'pay restoration' to reflect real-term inflation over the last decade.
But Labour moved quickly to draw a line under the disputes with a series of pay offers to public sector workers including teachers and train drivers.
Those included a 15 per cent pay deal over three years for train drivers which was heavily criticised by the Conservative opposition.
The strike is due to take place for five days from 7.00am (2pm Malaysia time) on July 25. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Free Malaysia Today
UK ninja sword ban begins as 1,000 weapons surrendered
Knife crime in England and Wales has risen by 87% over the past decade. (EPA Images pic) LONDON : At least 1,000 weapons have been surrendered under a British government amnesty launched last month to combat knife crime, the interior ministry announced today, as a new ban on ninja swords came into effect. Overall, knife crime in England and Wales has risen 87% over the past decade, with 54,587 offences recorded last year alone, a 2% rise from 2023 and among the highest rates in Europe. On July 29, 2024, teenager Axel Rudakubana attacked a Taylor Swift-themed children's dance event in the northern English town of Southport, killing three girls and stabbing 10 people in one of Britain's most harrowing knife assaults. Since then, the government has pledged tougher age checks for knife buyers, warned social media firms they could face fines for failing to curb sales and promotion of weapons, and banned zombie-style knives, machetes and ninja swords. Over the month of July this year, the government urged young people to drop off weapons, including bladed ones, at 'amnesty' bins or a mobile van – part of efforts to control knife crime, particularly when it involves youths. The government said at least 1,000 weapons have been handed in. A mobile van will be deployed at the Notting Hill Carnival in London later this month in response to past knife-related violence by a small number of attendees. It is unclear whether the 'amnesty' bins will stay in place once the month-long campaign comes to an end. The interior ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Charities and experts call the government's efforts a step forward but say they fail to address the root causes. The interior ministry said that knife-related robberies have fallen in seven highest-risk areas, dropping from 14% of all robberies in the seven highest-risk areas in the year ending June 2024 to 6% in the same period to June 2025. The ban on buying and selling ninja swords is part of the government's pledge to introduce Ronan's Law, named in honour of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda, who was fatally stabbed with a ninja sword in 2022. Campaigner Martin Cosser, whose son was killed in a knife attack two years ago, previously told Reuters that the issue was not just about the weapon itself, but about the 'emotional drivers' that lead people to carry knives in the first place.
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Malay Mail
‘Rewarding Hamas': Trump slams allies' push for Palestinian statehood
WASHINGTON, Aug 1 — President Donald Trump has expressed displeasure with leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Canada for saying they plan to recognise a Palestinian state in September, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday. Recent announcements by some of Washington's closest allies have only hardened the US president's stance against the move. While Trump slammed Canada for announcing its intention to recognise Palestinian statehood at a United Nations meeting in September, he has been milder in his criticism of French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. He dismissed Macron's decision, which got the ball rolling last week for other countries to consider similar steps, saying the statement did not 'matter' and 'doesn't carry much weight.' Starmer this week said the UK will formally recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel takes 'substantive' steps, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza. Asked about Britain's decision after a trip to Scotland and talks with Starmer, Trump said he was 'not in that camp, to be honest.' According to Leavitt, Trump is now more critical of the push for recognition and believes it amounts to 'rewarding Hamas at a time where Hamas is the true impediment to a cease fire and to the release of all of the hostages.' — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Trump and Starmer trade compliments but defend differences
President Donald Trump and UK PM Keir Starmer speak with the media during a meeting at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Scotland. (AP pic) EDINBURGH : US President Donald Trump spoke warmly about the 'special relationship' with Britain on Monday, lavishing praise on Prime Minister Keir Starmer, King Charles, and his own mother's Scottish homeland from the ballroom of his Turnberry golf club. But mixed in with the compliments were warnings for Starmer on energy policy, immigration, and tax, as well as a pointed attack on London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Starmer's political ally. Seated side-by-side, Starmer and Trump fielded more than an hour of questions from media in a whirlwind tour of global affairs that included setting a new deadline for Russia to agree a ceasefire in Ukraine and announcing food centres to ease starvation in Gaza. When it came to the Anglo-American relationship, Trump's often outspoken – and sometimes confrontational approach – to such media appearances was replaced with a charm offensive. 'The prime minister, he's been so supportive of us and so strong and so respected, and I respect him much more today than I did before, because I just met his wife and family. He's got a perfect wife, and that's never easy to achieve,' Trump said. Starmer, who spoke for only a small fraction of the 72 minutes the two spent in the gaze of the world's media, reciprocated the compliments freely in what was the latest chapter of a burgeoning friendship between the two leaders, who hail from opposing sides of the political spectrum. 'It's fantastic to be here – thank you for your hospitality – and to see this amazing golf course. I'll invite you to a football ground at some stage, and we can exchange sports,' Starmer joked. Defending Khan However, the British leader jumped in when Trump – who argued publicly with London mayor Khan during his first term as president – said Khan was doing a bad job running the British capital and called him a 'nasty person'. 'He's a friend of mine, I should add,' Starmer interjected, before Trump continued: 'I think he's done a terrible job.' Starmer listened to Trump talk about cutting immigration – an area in which the British leader is seen by the public as failing. Trump said that policy was key to his 2024 US election win, alongside his promises to reduce taxes and boost the economy. Starmer's government, only a year after winning a landslide victory, is facing a fiscal crunch caused by a stagnant economy, and many analysts expect tax increases later this year to plug the gap. On energy, the two talked up the potential of small nuclear reactors, but set out opposing positions on other sources of power. Trump gently urged Starmer to make more of Britain's oil and gas resources and renewed criticism of the offshore wind turbines that dot the coast near his golf course, and which form a key part of Starmer's plans for a carbon-free energy system. 'Wind is a disaster,' Trump said. 'It's a very expensive energy, it's a very ugly energy and we won't allow it in the United States.' Starmer replied: 'We believe in a mix.' State visit Smoothing over their differences on policy, the two looked ahead to Trump's next visit in September when he will be hosted by King Charles for a state visit. 'I hate to say it, but nobody does it like you people in terms of the pomp and ceremony,' Trump said. 'I'm a big fan of King Charles. I've known him for quite a while. Great guy, great person.' After accepting an invitation presented to him during Starmer's visit to the White House in February, Trump will become the first world leader in modern times to undertake two state visits to Britain. 'This is going to be a historic occasion, and we're all very much looking forward to it,' Starmer said. In May, Washington and London announced the first bilateral trade deal made in the wake of steep new tariffs on global imports imposed by Trump. Trump's visit concludes on Tuesday, when he will open a new golf course near Aberdeen named after his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born and raised on a Scottish island before emigrating to the United States.
