The Shadow Health Secretary has urged junior doctors to call off their upcoming strikes and told them he’ll be on the phone to them “on day one” if Labour gets into government.
Wes Streeting said he was “beyond furious” the strikes were ongoing as he criticised the Torie’ for failing to resolve them. Junior doctors at the British Medical Association are set to down tools in England from 7am on June 27 to 7am on July 2.
Asked on Sky News if he wants the walkouts called off, Mr Streeting said: “Yes…this Government is incapable of resolving the dispute before polling day on July 4. I don’t think there’s anything to be achieved by having strikes in an election campaign.
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“The only thing we will see is more untold misery on patients who see their appointments and procedures delayed, and also junior doctors out of pocket when I know the cost of living is massive.
“I’ve called on them to call off the strikes in an election campaign, give change a chance on July 4, knowing that if there is a Labour government on July 5, I will be phoning them on day one and asking the department to get talks up and running urgently to see if we can offset and see off any future strike action and bring an end to this terrible dispute.”
Mr Streeting added: “I’m beyond furious this is still happening. I thought it was disgraceful the way that Rishi Sunak sought to scapegoat and blame NHS staff during the sky debate.” He also said it was “fascinating” that a junior doctor told Keir Starmer they know a 35% is pay uplift is not possible and that they’re willing to negotiate, as he vowed to get in the room and figure out the dispute.
Announcing fresh strike action at the end of May, BMA junior doctors committee co-chairs Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: “We made clear to the Government that we would strike unless discussions ended in a credible pay offer. For more than 18 months we have been asking Rishi Sunak to put forward proposals to restore the pay junior doctors have lost over the past 15 years – equal to more than a quarter in real terms.
“When we entered mediation with Government this month we did so under the impression that we had a functioning government that would soon be making an offer. Clearly no offer is now forthcoming. Junior doctors are fed up and out of patience.
“Even at this late stage Mr Sunak has the opportunity to show that he cares about the NHS and its workers. It is finally time for him to make a concrete commitment to restore doctors’ pay. If during this campaign he makes such a public commitment that is acceptable to the BMA’s junior doctors committee, then no strikes need go ahead.”