BMA Junior Doctors’ Committee Chair Dr Johann Malawana admitted on Saturday that despite gigantic efforts to find ‘common ground,’ no agreement could be reached to end the imposition of an unsafe and unfair contract.
Malawana admitted in his opening speech to Saturday’s junior doctors conference in London that no ‘deal’ had been reached in a week of renewed talks with the government and ‘I can’t even add the word “yet”.’
It became obvious that Friday’s announcement that talks at ACAS had been extended for three days until this Wednesday, with no prospect of talks succeeding it was a move to tie the hands of the conference and gag junior doctors.
Malawana said: ‘We have been arguing for 300 days about issues which have damaged junior doctors’ morale and the quality of patient care for much longer than that, and would continue to do so.
‘It’s not the 300 days, but these days that matter now. We’re talking. They’re listening. We’re listening too. 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.
‘But I can tell you this. Our attitude in these negotiations has been not to trade grievances but to resolve them. Our aim has been to rediscover the common ground that is so great but so easily neglected: the shared interest of everyone in the health service to improve care for our patients. The temptation has been to relive the resentments, which are many, but instead we have tried to rediscover the opportunities.’ He added: ‘Now that we’re talking, let’s keep talking.’
There were calls during their conference for closer links with the TUC and for health secretary Hunt to resign but, on the excuse of extended talks, no discussion was allowed on the contract or any further industrial action despite no agreement being in sight.
News Line spoke to some junior doctors at the end of the conference. Dr Raghu Boyapati from Sutton in Surrey said: ‘There was nothing discussed about the contract because negotiations are still going on. A motion for a TUC national demonstration was passed as a reference and there was a unanimous vote for the BMA to work closely with other unions to defend the NHS.’
Dr Anna Crow from Glasgow said: ‘There was a vote of no confidence in Jeremy Hunt as Secretary of State. Some spoke and said Hunt should resign but it never got voted for. Motions were passed to have closer links with the TUC. And there was a motion passed saying that the government needs to do a lot more to welcome and support refugees.’
Dr Iain Campbell, also from Scotland, said: ‘It’s a shame that negotiators are limited in what they are able to say in the light of ongoing discussions. We hope the government is conducting negotiations in good faith. We’ll have to wait till Wednesday before we know the outcome and can take a decision.’
The response to this gagging of the conference with no agreement in sight must be for the junior doctors committee to take forward the fight and call more strikes. The TUC must be made to honour the PCS and FBU call for a day of action and national demonstration in defence of the junior doctors and the NHS.
The whole working class must be brought into the fight which is to defend the NHS and its hardworking staff.