Keir Starmer Gives 48 Hour Deadline To Resident Doctors To Call Off Strikes
Sir Keir Starmer has issued an ultimatum to resident doctors to call off their strikes or lose the deal on the table.
The Prime Minister has threatened to withdraw an offer of thousands of extra specialty NHS training posts if the British Medical Association (BMA) follows through on its threat of a six-day strike after Easter.
Last week, the BMA resident doctors’ committee rejected an offer that would have given doctors a pay rise of up to 7.1% this year, without putting it to members for a vote.
Writing in The Times, Sir Keir branded the BMA’s rejection of the deal “reckless” and said it “benefits no one”.
He called for the BMA to allow its members to vote on whether they want to accept the deal.
Sir Keir wrote: “Last week, the BMA resident doctors’ committee rejected a historic deal.
“They now have 48 hours to reconsider. For patients, for the NHS, and for the doctors they represent — they should.”
The deal would have meant another above-inflation pay rise, reforms to pay progression, reimbursements for the cost of Royal College exams, and an extra 4,500 additional speciality training places over three years.
Of these jobs, a thousand would have opened for applications this month, but “will be gone if this deal isn’t put to a vote on Thursday”, the Prime Minister said.
Sir Keir added: “Those measures were not chosen randomly, nor were they imposed from above.
“They are the result of months of collaboration with the BMA, who engaged constructively throughout. At every stage, we listened to one another, recognising that above all else, we shared those same foundational goals.
“That is why walking away from this deal is the wrong decision. It is a reckless decision. And doing so without even giving resident doctors themselves the chance to vote on it makes it even worse.
“Because the truth is this: no one benefits from rejecting this deal.”
He concluded: “It is not too late to change course, to return to a constructive approach, and to do the most reasonable thing of all: give members a say and put this deal to a vote.
“Failing to do so will mean resident doctors are left with less, the NHS is weakened, and patients pay the price.
“And to resident doctors themselves, I say this: make your voice heard. This deal improves your pay, your progression and your future. Do not let others decide that for you.”
The union, which is set to stage a walkout from April 7 to April 13, is demanding “full pay restoration” to 2008 levels, the equivalent of a 26% pay rise.
Published: by Radio NewsHub