LONDON: Tens of thousands of junior doctors in England have voted for strike action next month, their trade union said on Monday, adding to a series of walkouts by nurses and ambulance workers putting pressure on an already strained health system.
The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents some 45,000 junior doctors in England, said 98% of those taking part in a ballot had voted in favour of strike action, adding that they will stage a 72-hour walkout next month. The BMA did not give a date for the strike.
Junior doctors agreed in 2019 to an annual 2% pay rise as part of a four-year deal but say that is now inadequate in light of much higher inflation.
"This vote shows, without a shadow of a doubt, the strength of feeling among most of England’s junior doctors," the BMA said. "We are frustrated, in despair and angry and we have voted in our thousands."
The BMA describes junior doctors as those who are qualified in clinical training and have up to eight years' experience working as a hospital doctor or up to three years in general practice. They work under the supervision of a senior doctor.
British health minister Steve Barclay called the vote "deeply disappointing."
"I've met with the BMA and other medical unions to discuss what is fair and affordable, as well as wider concerns around conditions and workload. I want to continue discussing how we can make the make the NHS a better place to work for all," he said in a statement, using the acronym for the National Health Service.
The BMA says junior doctors have suffered a more than 25% real-terms pay cut since 2008, leaving many demoralised and four in 10 wanting to leave the profession, according to a recent survey.
Another trade union for doctors, the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, said its junior doctor members had also voted to carry out strike action in a separate ballot. That strike, on March 15, involves less than a thousand staff.
The strikes will heap more pressure on Britain's state-funded NHS which is already stretched by staff shortages and record backlogs, and is now experiencing waves of disruptive strike action by health workers.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government has argued that higher pay rises would only cause more inflation and interest rates and mortgage rates to go up further.
More than 10,000 ambulance workers were on strike on Monday, while the nursing trade union last week announced a fresh 48-hour strike from March 1.
Reuters
Tue Feb 21 2023
![UK healthcare strikes to intensify as junior doctors vote to walk out UK healthcare strikes to intensify as junior doctors vote to walk out](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2023-02/41676964359_LONDON.jpg)
People hold placards as they stand on a picket line during a strike by NHS medical workers, amid a dispute with the government over pay, outside the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in Liverpool, Britain. - REUTERS
![Hukuman penjara bapa lakukan serangan seksual ke atas 3 anak perempuan dikurangkan Hukuman penjara bapa lakukan serangan seksual ke atas 3 anak perempuan dikurangkan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-04/51714453013_courtgavelmahkam.jpg)
Hukuman penjara bapa lakukan serangan seksual ke atas 3 anak perempuan dikurangkan
Dalam penghakimannya, Che Mohd Ruzima berkata perayu gagal membuktikan bahawa Mahkamah Sesyen terkhilaf dalam memutuskan kes itu.
Malaysia-Brunei adakan rundingan mudahkan urusan Imigresen
Malaysia dan Brunei akan mengadakan rundingan bagi memudahkan proses keluar masuk rakyat kedua-dua negara.
![Pan-gon mahu kekal hubungan baik dengan Malaysia Pan-gon mahu kekal hubungan baik dengan Malaysia](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721124936_KimPanGon.jpg)
Pan-gon mahu kekal hubungan baik dengan Malaysia
Bekas ketua jurulatih Harimau Malaya Kim Pan-gon mahu mengekalkan hubungan baik dengan skuad itu biarpun tidak lagi bersama.
Kos pampasan tanah fasa 1B proses Projek LPB Sabah RM1.2 bilion - Alexander
Anggaran kos pengambilan balik tanah bagi keseluruhan Fasa 1B proses pengambilan tanah dan penilaian pampasan tanah bagi Projek Lebuh Raya Pan Borneo Sabah (LPB Sabah) berjumlah RM1.2 bilion.
Sentiasa berhati-hati, ribut petir diramal berlaku di Sabah
Orang ramai khususnya yang tinggal di kawasan berisiko di Sabah disaran agar bersiap siaga terutama dari segi perubahan cuaca yang tidak menentu yang seterusnya akan mengakibatkan bencana banjir dan pokok tumbang.
Nasib acara sepak takraw wanita diketahui Khamis ini
Nasib acara sepak takraw wanita berpasukan dalam Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA) edisi ke-21 di Sarawak akan ditentukan dalam Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa SUKMA Peringkat Kebangsaan pada Khamis ini.
JPBM Sabah serah jentera khas buat pasukan sukarela
Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia (JBPM) negeri Sabah sedang dalam perancangan untuk menyerahkan jentera khas, iaitu Volunter Fire Rescue Tender (VFRT) untuk Pasukan Bomba Sukarela (PBS) di Sabah.
Sarawak akan pertahan pingat sukan Muay Thai edisi lalu
Skuad Sarawak akan berusaha mempertahankan masing-masing dua emas, perak dan gangsa dalam kejohanan SUKMA yang dimenangi dalam edisi lalu.
![Usaha pujuk Pan-gon tidak berhasil - Yusoff Mahadi Usaha pujuk Pan-gon tidak berhasil - Yusoff Mahadi](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721124841_TBFAM.jpg)
Usaha pujuk Pan-gon tidak berhasil - Yusoff Mahadi
FAM pernah berusaha memujuk Kim Pan-gon untuk terus mengemudi skuad Harimau Malaya hingga kontraknya tamat secara rasmi pada akhir tahun depan.
![Kaspersky tinggalkan pasaran AS bermula 20 Julai ini Kaspersky tinggalkan pasaran AS bermula 20 Julai ini](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-02/51708604164_kasperskyancamans.jpg)
Kaspersky tinggalkan pasaran AS bermula 20 Julai ini
Kaspersky mengesahkan kurang 50 pekerja akan terkesan, dan mereka akan diberikan pampasan susulan penutupan syarikat tersebut.