‘JUNIOR doctors cannot and will not accept a contract that is bad for the future of patient care, the profession and the NHS as a whole,’ said the BMA yesterday, reacting to Health Secretary Hunt’s dictatorial imposition of the proposed new contract on the junior doctors and their BMA trade union.
Hunt had responded quickly to a letter sent to him by Sir David Dalton, the leader of the government’s negotiating team with the BMA, urging him to impose the contract.
Salford Health Executive Dalton has a history. He took part in the government-sponsored review last December that recommended that management of more NHS hospitals could be handed over to private companies!
Commenting on the announcement, Dr Johann Malawana, BMA junior doctor committee chair, said of the government: ‘It wants to impose a flawed contract on a generation of junior doctors who have lost all trust in the Health Secretary. Junior doctors already work around the clock, seven days a week and they do so under their existing contract.’
Malawana issued a powerful warning saying: ‘This is clearly a political fight for the government rather than an attempt to come to a reasonable solution for all junior doctors. If it succeeds with its bullying approach of imposing a contract on junior doctors that has been roundly rejected by the profession, it will no doubt seek to do the same for other NHS staff.’
The truth is that, with new draconian anti-union laws coming in, the Tories intend to establish a dictatorship over the trade unions, and are keen to use all their powers to defeat the junior doctors, and also the nurses fighting tuition fees. They aim to show the already petrified TUC trade union leaders what happens to a union if it defies the government.
They are keen to establish as law their theory that any proposal in the Tory general election manifesto must be obeyed. The junior doctors are fighting for all workers. Malawana is right. A successful Tory imposition will set the pattern for a dictatorship to be imposed on all NHS trade unions to bring in seven-day working – at no extra cost to the state. Then all TUC trade unions will feel the full weight of the new anti-trade union laws, and it will be back to the coolie society of the 19th century!
At the junior doctors’ and nurses’ mass demonstration on February 6th, the final speaker was again Johann Malawana. He said: ‘Imposition is not strength. There are 54,000 junior doctors, 174,000 BMA members. We are doctors and we are fighting every day. Thousands of BMA members have said No to Jeremy Hunt. Go ahead Jeremy Hunt! Announce the imposition and see what happens!’ There must be more strike action!
To emphasise the widest possible public support, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood also spoke at the rally. She said: ‘Junior doctors are the future and you will win. Protect our NHS from government cuts. I am against the government and its rotten financial system which is designed to create poverty and which is total rubbish. It is absolutely anti-humanity and dangerous. We want more doctors, more teachers and fair pay. Your fight is everybody’s fight. People are not stupid, they support you, you have the support of public opinion.’
The junior doctors are going to continue their fight, with the 100% support of the nurses and the BMA. The big issue is that deeds, not just fair words, are required from the trade union leaders. Anything less than supportive strike action will be a betrayal of the JDs, the nurses, the NHS and the millions of TU members who support the junior doctors, and who depend on the NHS, the Welfare State and their trade union right to fight imposed contracts.
The TUC yesterday was not even willing to give the News Line a statement in support of the junior doctors. This is not surprising since they have not taken a day of strike action in opposition to the proposed anti-union laws!
Other unions made verbal statements of support. None of this is good enough! The major trade unions must call strike action and force the TUC general council to call a general strike to support the junior doctors by bringing the Tories down. This is the only way to answer this growing Tory dictatorship! Call the general strike now!
