Doctors have voted overwhelmingly to ballot the profession on industrial action to protest against the coalition's plans to overhaul the NHS pension scheme.
Delegates at the British Medical Association's annual conference in Cardiff voted by 87% to 13% in favour of a motion that will see the union seek the views of its 140,000 members about "all forms of industrial action".
The vote means the first industrial action by doctors since 1975 is now a very real possibility, given that ministers show no sign of backing down in their determination to push through major changes to NHS staff pensions.
Utterly reasonable people have as a result made clear they do not trust this government or its motives.
Quite right too.
They don't trust it on NHS reforms.
They don't trsut it on privatisation.
They don't trsut it to protect patients and services.
And they don't trust it on pensions.
I look forward to supporting my wife on the picket line as she's a GP.
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Whereas if we all stick our heads in the sand, it will all go away …
I have no idea what you mean….
As a doctor myself I can say with almost total confidence (and shame) that the profession will not even contemplate strike action.
I agree – I think strikes very unlikely
But there are other options
There are many options and from what I can garner, doctors will not strike or put their patients in harms way, however, I suspect non urgent treatments and procedures will suffer.
Not really the point though — the fact that they’re balloting at all is all the indictment this pension-thieving policy needs in public eyes
So, private schools, doctors on strike – we just need a few colonels and chief inspectors and even the Telegraph might reconsider the government stance.
Don’t forget nurses Sue!
Yesderday I was full of admiration for all those especially nursery & primary teachers who withdraw their labour which will cost them a day’s money to protest against their reduced future income/future pensions etc., Yes, why should they pay for the banker’s misdeeds , bailouts, and so on. Early this morning I read yesterday’s FT in which both its Leader & main Analysis article claimed there is no alternative quoting Lord Hutton because of “the gap” between the future bill for our Pensions and the amount coming in from future tax payers. So this morning I am confused. The FT is generally objective and remains one of our best newspapers. How do we square the circle?
The FT objective? I don’t think so. Whilst many of its columnists proffer good analysis and conclusions, the editorials are cheerleaders for every destructive policy of the ConDems. Yesterday it gave its backing to a further shift of the tax burden from rich to poor and I felt impelled to dash off a letter. I didn’t expect them to publish because it was pretty scathing.
Apologies for sounding a discordant note, but how much sympathy do you think that doctors will get if they take any form of industrial action? As a general rule, doctors reside in one of the best pay brackets of society. Any form of industrial action (regardless of what they are striking about and whether this is right or wrong) will only move public opinion against them and the rest of the public sector. I’m not going to comment on the issues as Richard will disagree with them violently, but public sector employees need to be really careful that they do not take action that means that public support swings massively against them.
Oh come on – just because you’re an unreconstructed neoliberal most of the world is not
And what they’ll see is a bunch of people whose judgement they trust saying this government is a bunch of dela breaking thugs who want to crush pubic service for the benefit to their banker friends
Which is exactly what’s happening
There’s no hope of you being right
Dream on is all I can say