THE decision last week by Tory Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and agreed by the BMA to extend the ‘talks’ over imposing new contracts on junior doctors until this Wednesday, was a device to gag Saturday’s annual conference of junior doctors.
Originally Hunt agreed to talk with the BMA for a strictly limited period of five days, which elapsed last Friday. During this period Hunt agreed that he would hold off imposing the contract in return for the BMA holding off setting new strike dates.
The sudden decision to extend these talks over the period of the JD’s conference meant in effect that this conference, representing all junior doctors, was refused the right by the BMA leadership to make any decisions about further strike action.
They could not even discuss the details of discussions taking place as these negotiations are being carried out under conditions of strict secrecy. What was made clear, however, was that these negotiations are going absolutely nowhere.
In his opening speech to the conference, the junior doctors leader, Dr Johann Malawana, said that there had been ‘300 days’ of arguing with the government; he then confessed that: ‘If this were a movie, I’d now pull out a large envelope with the word ‘‘deal’’ written on it. We’re not there, and I can’t even add the word ‘‘yet’’ to the end of that sentence.’
In fact there is no possibility of a ‘deal’ between the BMA and the Tories. The Tories are determined to impose a contract on junior doctors that is purely designed to force a seven-day week working without anything like adequate funding regardless of the dangers posed to staff and patients.
The overriding imperative for the government is to cut back spending on health, cut the wages bill and prepare the NHS for privatisation. Junior doctors are just the start as the Tories aim to impose by dictatorship similar contracts on consultants and all NHS staff.
This is what is at stake for the government, cutting back spending to try and pay off the huge debts run up bailing out a collapsed banking system. Extending the negotiations by a few days will not produce any deal that will derail this imperative as the leadership of the BMA know full well.
The whole treacherous manoeuvre had only one aim – to silence the junior doctors conference and stop them from deciding on further strike actions. The BMA leaders are so desperate to ditch the fight over the new contract that they have consciously conspired with Hunt and the Tories to avoid any further escalation of the action in the knowledge that such an escalation would threaten to bring down the government – something they are incapable of contemplating.
They would rather sell their own members out than lead such a fight. Despite being bureaucratically denied the right to plan further action the conference passed motions calling for closer links with the TUC, a clear signal that junior doctors are in no mood to cave in and are looking to the trade union movement for support.
What is also clear is that the Tories are so weak that they are forced to rely on this treacherous leadership in the BMA and the TUC. The junior doctors enjoy the overwhelming support of workers who recognise that this is not a fight over money but about the very existence of the NHS.
The time has come to immediately call upon this support to take action. Junior doctors must demand an immediate re-call of the conference and instruct the BMA leadership to break off all these diversionary and meaningless talks or face removal.
They must set dates for further all-out strike action and demand that the TUC general council act on the proposals from the FBU and PCS unions for a TUC day of action to coincide with these strikes.
There was a call at Saturday’s conference for the BMA to approach the TUC to organise a national demonstration in defence of the NHS and junior doctors. Joint action by the junior doctors and the entire trade union movement will smash the Tory plans to impose new contacts and privatise the NHS while paving the way for a general strike to bring down the Tories.`
This is the only way forward to defend the NHS.