MORE than half a million workers are striking today in Britain’s biggest day of strike action for decades.
Hundreds of thousands of members of eight unions – the UCU, NEU, Aslef, RMT, BMA and HCSA, Prospect and NUJ – are striking.
The NEU teachers’ union, which has over 250,000 members on strike today and tomorrow, announced: ‘On Wednesday we will unite our members and supporters together to form the largest demonstration in education for a generation,’ (see advert this page).
With 133,000 members on strike, the PCS said that it expects to have 1,000 picket lines around the country.
Over 10,000 RMT members are also taking strike action across the Tube network today, shutting down London Underground, with General Secretary Mick Lynch warning: ‘London Underground managers are imposing new rosters across our Tube stations which are based on cutting 600 station staff jobs.’
In the midst of the 72-hour strike by 75,000 junior doctors, which continues until 7am tomorrow, the BMA reported yesterday that membership levels have surged to a record high – with more than 184,000 doctors now members – an increase of 17,000 since the start of 2023.
Yesterday, thousands of junior doctors again joined picket lines at hospitals across England in protest over the real terms cuts to their pay of more than 26% in the past 15 years.
On the BMA picket line at Homerton Hospital in Hackney, east London yesterday Owen Dineen, urology doctor, told News Line: ‘From our point of view the dispute is about pay.
‘The nationwide support at the vote was an overwhelming 98.6%. That vote is for action out of a turnout of 77%. So it was clear that at Homerton we had the mandate for strike action.
‘After that the hospital did a fine job of supporting us and making sure the patients were safe.
‘So from there it was imperative as doctors working at Homerton that we as a mark of respect to the hospital who supported us, made a visible and great turnout for patients and colleagues.
‘We’re all achieving, conscious people who want to achieve the best we can. That’s why we’re on the picket line enjoying our demo and playing some fine music.’
Lizzie Hobbs, paediatrics doctor, said: ‘We’re striking to show awareness of the pay and conditions affecting all NHS staff. I feel like this government has been underfunding the NHS for years and it’s frustrating the doctors because we want to provide top quality care.
‘We’re a rich country and so we can afford the best care, but unfortunately the ideology of the government does not want to fund it properly. It is almost as if they want the NHS to fail.
‘Being a doctor is the most satisfactory job in the world when you can provide good standard care and if it was funded properly we would have good staff retention and fewer rota gaps.
‘I think we shouldn’t separate ourselves off, we’re all public sector workers with valued skills so I think we should support our colleagues especially nurses who are poorly paid for what they do.’
On the picket line at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow, north-west London, junior doctor Katie said: ‘40% of junior doctors are considering leaving, which is a disgrace. It’s a great job and should be a privilege but we are spending our entire time apologising for the situation we’re having to treat patients in.
‘We should all be aware of the situation in hospitals. We have a lot of public support and we have to support workers’ rights together.’
Joe O’Connor, matron for the care of the elderly, joined the picket line to support the junior doctors and said: ‘It’s important to support junior doctors. We are one big team and support each other and we are the backbone of the NHS. We need a general strike to save our NHS.
‘The NHS is the most important institution in the UK and it needs to be restored to its former glory.
‘Patients and staff are suffering through a depleted workforce and we can’t keep the staff because of low pay and stressful working conditions.’
The co-chairs of the junior doctor committee, Dr Rob Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said yesterday morning: ‘We remain open to entering talks with the government anytime and anywhere to bring this dispute to a swift resolution and restore the pay that junior doctors have lost.
‘If the Health Secretary is truly committed to this, then he needs to drop these unreasonable pre-conditions and begin proper negotiations with us.
‘It is Steve Barclay who is stopping talks happening by putting up barriers he knows our members cannot accept.
‘The preconditions go against the very thing junior doctors are in dispute over. It begs the question; does he even understand why doctors are so angry?
‘Over several years this government has broken trust with junior doctors, imposed changes to our work contracts without agreement and excluded junior doctors from pay awards.
‘So, it is really no surprise that we want to see more from the Secretary of State than a vague last-minute letter with impossible preconditions.
‘This Government has had months to talk to us and produce a serious offer. The fact that strike action is happening is 100% the fault of Steve Barclay who shows no real commitment to resolving this dispute.
