Thousands of doctors began a three-day strike in British hospitals on Monday to demand wage increases, beginning a week marked by widespread social unrest.
In the UK, where inflation exceeds 10%, several professions have been hit by strikes in recent months. Railroad workers, nurses, border guards, teachers, etc. have gone on strike to increase demand as food and energy prices soar.
The government has entered into negotiations with nurses and railway workers in particular.
But Wednesday, the day the government presents its budget, is expected to be one of the biggest days of workers’ action in several years. Civil servants, teachers, London tube drivers and BBC journalists in particular will stop working. A demonstration was to take place in the Westminster district of London.
Doctors launched the movement on Monday. Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) have picketed outside hospitals. Their movement is expected to last three days.
According to the BMA, these doctors have lost 26% of their remuneration in real terms since 2008, when austerity measures were imposed on the health services.
This union launched a campaign claiming that early in their careers, cafe waiters were better paid than doctors. According to the BMA, the latter receive around 14 pounds sterling (15.8 euros) per hour.
“Thanks to this government, you can make more money serving coffee than you save patients,” is a BMA slogan.
“I thought if I became a doctor I would be financially independent, but I’m not,” said Becky Bates, a recent graduate from central England.
“With tuition and personal loans, I left medical school in excess of £100,000 in debt. Today, my salary doesn’t even allow me to fix my car if there’s a problem,” she lamented.
Leaders of the NHS, the public health service, are concerned about the impact this strike will have on patients.
The NHS is going through a deep crisis, weakened by austerity and the fallout from the pandemic. On February 6, it faced the largest strike since its inception in 1948, when nurses and paramedics walked out for the first time on the same day.