Junior Doctors Strikes

bobuk said:
appointments with our GP max 2mins normally shorter, that's after waiting at least a hour.
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Impossible here, they blocked online booking.

But interestingly after I had a routine blood test, I had a GP appointment booked for me, no issues giving me a slot then, then when the GP rang, I was told was only slight minor issues, nothing of importance. So to me that was a wasted appointment, could have been done by someone lower down the chain.
 
tamzzy said:
I'm on night shifts that week. I don't know what to do.
My head says strike, my heart says don't :/
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It's a tough one and many of our juniors are struggling. Some are striking, some can't afford it, others aren't striking for a variety of reasons.

I went on strike in 2016 as I really didn't like the precedence of an imposed contract, that felt wrong. Striking over pay is more individual and more divisive. I personally support it, the upcoming strike is timed to be disruptive, maybe a little much for my blood but I like the JDC has got some balls atleast.

I don't think many more strikes are needed to break the impasse. The cost to trust is immense and someone must be doing the maths. Between the previous strikes and the upcoming ones the few shifts I've covered alone will be into 5 figures in locum fees. It's very quickly going to be cheaper to offer a decent pay rise than keep paying these locum bills.

People say that striking over pay is wrong/loses public support quickly but we were looking at private school (the one many of my colleagues have their kids at) and they've just hiked their fees by 10% this year. What was affordable on a consultant's wage is now unaffordable because we've let wages get eroded in real terms for 10+ years.
 
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@Minstadave yeah I also went on strike during the 2016 imposed contract
I thought it was wrong that the JDF agreed a 2% pay rise/yr as that would've only kept up with inflation (but in hindsight didn't) to come out of dispute with HMG...silly silly
 
2016 was a wasted opportunity. Some serious disruption over the Easter holidays, but this is the only way that the point can be made it would seem. JDs are doing some serious legwork on behalf of the consultants with their contract/pay negotiations coming up. Everyone has to make their own decision about striking, but I fully support the action.
 
The government are not going to announce any deal for junior doctors until the agenda for change deal is accepted. Once it is, an announcement for the juniors doctors will be made, where it will be much better than the agenda for change offer. Then the back stabbing begins with moving the nurses on to their own agenda for change banding (in order to give an already agreed, better and more affordable pay rises the following year). This was the whole reason the nurses union held separate talks and fought against allowing any other unions to be involved. It's all a done deal from the union talk I have heard. The only spanner in the works will be if the agenda for change pay offer is rejected. I hope it is. I also hope everyone strikes and the government are forced to act.
 
casper_uk said:
The government are not going to announce any deal for junior doctors until the agenda for change deal is accepted. Once it is, an announcement for the juniors doctors will be made, where it will be much better than the agenda for change offer. Then the back stabbing begins with moving the nurses on to their own agenda for change banding (in order to give an already agreed, better and more affordable pay rises the following year). This was the whole reason the nurses union held separate talks and fought against allowing any other unions to be involved. It's all a done deal from the union talk I have heard. The only spanner in the works will be if the agenda for change pay offer is rejected. I hope it is. I also hope everyone strikes and the government are forced to act.
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I think the vote will be extremely close, the offer on the table is the bare minimum of what might possibly get through. Like you, I hope it doesn’t.
 
tom_nieto said:
2016 was a wasted opportunity. Some serious disruption over the Easter holidays, but this is the only way that the point can be made it would seem. JDs are doing some serious legwork on behalf of the consultants with their contract/pay negotiations coming up. Everyone has to make their own decision about striking, but I fully support the action.
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Yeah 2016 was really just dipping a toe in the water. Times weren't as hard as now and strikes weren't widespread. We didn't go hard enough to have a result.

The current JDC seem much more focussed and ambitious. The cost to trusts is massive with the whole consultant body acting down to provide emergency care.
 
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casper_uk said:
It's all a done deal from the union talk I have heard. The only spanner in the works will be if the agenda for change pay offer is rejected. I hope it is.
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I'd be livid if I was paying one of the NHS unions. Parading that 5%, half of inflation, is a good deal and trying to intimidate their members into accepting it. They seem to have forgotten who they work for.
 
Trifid said:
I'd be livid if I was paying one of the NHS unions. Parading that 5%, half of inflation, is a good deal and trying to intimidate their members into accepting it. They seem to have forgotten who they work for.
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They are, and even started to gather signatures for a vote of no confidence in the RCN leadership. When they hit the required number of 1000, the leadership claimed it's not valid, and any further attempts to get more signatures will also be deemed invalid! Rotten to the core.
 
We're probably going to be in hospital getting a C-section to deliver our twins on the 11th. Going to be fun :rolleyes:
 
Finally an offer has been tabled. Approx 20% made up of last years deal tabled by the Tories plus another 4% ish on top and 6% next year.

Don't think the JDs will go for it personally. The fact a Physcians Associate gets 10k more than a FY1 doctor makes no sense.
 
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Minstadave said:
Don't think the JDs will go for it personally. The fact a Physcians Associate gets 10k more than a FY1 doctor makes no sense.
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I think they will; I think it's more than they expected, they understand that wages will continue to rise, and no-one really wants to be on strike.
 
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