‘Fix our pay, retain our doctors’, NHS workers demand higher salaries and better conditions in London protest

« Doctors and consultants were seen standing on the picket line outside the University College Hospital (UCH) in London on Monday, in the latest round of NHS strikes to demand higher salaries and improved working conditions amid an ongoing dispute with the government.
Footage shows a group of healthcare workers on the steps of the UCH holding protest signs from the British Medical Association (BMA) and cardboard placards with slogans such as, ‘Fix consultants pay now and for the future’, ‘£14/ hour is not a fair wage for a junior doctor. Full pay restoration now’, and ‘Fix our pay. Retain our doctors. Protect the NHS’, among others.
The latest round of industrial action marks the sixth time junior doctors have been on strike since December and the third walkout by consultants.
The BMA is demanding a 35 per cent pay rise for junior doctors in England, claiming they have been subjected to a 26 per cent real-term pay cut since 2009 due to rising annual inflation.
Earlier, Britain’s Conservative government offered consultants a six per cent pay rise and boosted pensions, while it has proposed an annual average increase of 8.8 per cent for junior doctors.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed this proposal offer will be the government’s final offer, arguing further increases would risk fuelling inflation. »



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