Wes Streeting is aiming for a constructive meeting with the British Medical Association to prevent planned strikes by resident doctors in England. A significant decline in public support for these strikes has been noted, with approval dropping from 52% to 26%. Many healthcare professionals expressed outrage over demands for a 29% pay rise, especially since resident doctors received a 22% salary increase last summer. Some resident doctors highlighted their low wages compared to their assistants. Concerns about pay erosion and low morale affecting NHS retention are also evident.
No doctor wants to take strike action: it is a last resort, and it is entirely within the government's hands to prevent these upcoming strikes. No other professional in any industry is paid less than their assistants, except doctors. We are simply asking for a first-year doctor, who currently earns 17 per hour, to be paid 22.50 per hour.
Wes Streeting has said that pay restoration is a journey. However, when you take inflation [based on the current RPI of 4.4%] into account, this year's [pay offer] amounts to an 1% increase. At this rate, it would take about 20 years to recover the 21% pay erosion since 2008.
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