NHS staff have to work harder to ‘justify’ more pay, Steve Barclay tells furious unions
IndependentOct 19, 2022
The Facts
Thousands of junior doctors and consultants across England launched a three-day strike on Monday to demand better pay and working conditions, the second such strike in less than a month. The strike coincided with the ruling Conservative Party's annual meeting in Manchester.
The industrial action, which is expected to significantly impact already disrupted non-emergency National Health Service (NHS) operations, comes months after the government offered an average 6% raise for consultants and 8.8% for junior doctors. The raises come after years of stagnant wages that have eroded take-home income for both groups.
The Spin
Right narrative
Union marches and picket lines are almost a constitutional requirement for a Conservative Party conference to take place, so this latest NHS stoppage doesn't come as a surprise. Yet, doctors should really ponder whether they feel comfortable causing harm to patients and being a political pawn of the Labour Party in its attempt to damage the Tories.
Left narrative
Though Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government has outrageously condemned striking doctors and other health care workers for his own failure to appropriately capacitate health services in England and bring down all-time-high NHS waiting lists, Sunak's blame game hasn't persuaded the public. Ahead of the winter, the government must depart from empty words and solve the NHS's chronic underfunding.
