Junior doctors announce historical three day strike on March 13th

As reported by The Guardian, the BMA will pursue strikes due to Steve Barclay’s refusal to meet with junior doctors for pay dispute negotiations

The BMA has announced that junior doctors will be striking on March 13th for three days.

Only 2% of the balloted BMA members voted against industrial action, marking the second time in NHS history that strikes will be running for more than two consecutive days. This is also the first time in history that junior doctors belonging to the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association will be striking on March 15th in unison with the BMA.

The BMA pursued industrial action due to health secretary Steve Barclay’s refusal to meet and negotiate with junior doctors twice.

“We have written many times and even as late as yesterday we were hopeful Steve Barclay would recognise the need to meet with us to find a workable solution that could have averted this strike,” said Dr Rob Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, co-chairs of the BMA junior doctors’ committee.

Meanwhile, the Royal College of Nursing has paused their 48hr strike after Barclay approved a meeting with the union to discuss pay.

Barclay has stated that he appreciates the effort of junior doctors and would continue to work on bettering the NHS for healthcare staff.