Junior doctors in England declares strike from March 13 to 15

• Junior doctors have declared three days of strike action in England.
• To demand a pay raise after the health secretary refused.
• To attend a meeting to discuss wages.

The British Medical Association has declared the dates of March 13, 14, and 15 as junior physicians’ days of strike action in England.

To make up for inflation over the past 15 years, they demand a pay raise.

According to the BMA, young physicians are at a loss for options after the health secretary “refused to attend” a meeting to discuss wages.

The strike action, according to Downing Street, was “disappointing,” because Steve Barclay had just met with the union to talk about what was reasonable and fair.

Junior doctors will skip routine and emergency care throughout the three-day strike, which begins and ends at 07:00.

Nevertheless, by law, they are only permitted to leave the delivery of life-and-limb emergency treatment if the NHS has secured replacement workers.

All medical professionals, from those who have recently graduated from medical school to those with many years of front-line experience, are referred to as “junior doctors.”

They make up more than 40% of the medical workforce as a whole.

In a recent referendum for a strike, which was open to over 48,000 junior doctors working in hospitals and the community, more than 36,000 chose to take action.

Junior doctors are “demoralized, irate, and no longer willing to work at pay that have suffered a real terms reduction of almost 26% in the past 15 years,” according to the BMA union.

They said this, together with “the stress and exhaustion of working in an NHS crisis” had brought them to this moment.

“We have not been told why we have not been offered intensive negotiations nor what we need to do for the government to begin negotiations with us.

“We are left with no option but to proceed with this action,” the BMA junior doctors’ committee said.

Mr. Barclay said it was “deeply disappointing” that some union members had voted for strike action.

According to ministers, junior doctors’ compensation has grown by a total of 8.2% since 2019–20, and rates for night shifts and the most experienced employees have been raised. A higher pay band has also been implemented.

In 2016, a new contract had been implemented when junior doctors last went on strike.

Consultants stepped in during the 2016 strike, but as a result, several pre-scheduled procedures including knee and hip replacements had to be postponed.

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