Streeting invites doctors for fresh talks next week
Residents doctors' representatives have been invited for fresh talks next week in the hopes of resolving the long-running salary dispute. It comes after the doctors' union, the British Medical Association (BMA), wrote to Streeting on Tuesday evening asking for talks. Streeting said he would not negotiate on salary, but was willing to resume discussions that began last week about working conditions, such as career advancement, exam fees, and rotas. However, he warned the union that the government had lost the government's goodwill as a result of the new strike, which ended on Wednesday. The BMA said it was considering his bid despite the union's request for wage negotiations.
According to streeting's letter, it was ironic
that the BMA was calling for talks, implying that he had never left the bargaining table. When the union announced that its five-day walkout was going to proceed, the talks came to an end last Tuesday. It was the twelfth strike since spring 2023, but it was the first under Labour.
'Squandered goodwill'
Streeting signed an agreement with resident doctors that culminated in a halt to industrial action shortly after the election. It resulted in a 22% increase in pay over a two-year period. They have been given another 5. The BMA took a 4% average increase this year, but a new strike action was taken against it because compensation was still a fifth lower than it was in 2008. Streeting's letter on Wednesday said that the new strike action was deeply disappointing
and completely unnecessary
considering that talks that had started could have made substantive improvements to doctor's working lives. The attack had a negative effect on patients, according to Dr. David. Your move has also been self-defeating,
Streeting continued,
because you've squandered the immense goodwill you had with me and this administration.
But he said his door remained open and that he was eager to meet early next week. The latest strike hasn't yet established the severity of the health services disruption. The NHS has attempted to keep the majority of non-urgent jobs, such as knee and hip surgery, going forward. Any hospitals said they were able to do more than 80% of their normal workload, although previously it had been as low as 50%. Resident doctors account for nearly half of the medical workforce, from physicians fresh out of college to those with more experience.
