Doctors' 29% pay claim is ludicrous... we can't have it all

RESIDENT doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, are once again on strike — this time for five days. It’s the latest instalment in a long-running soap opera between the British Medical Association and the Government over pay. Up to 50,000 fully qualified medics in England, many in postgraduate training, will walk out in protest at what they see as a decade of dwindling real-terms wages.

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The Government recently offered them a 5.4% pay rise, following a record 22% increase across two years in 2023. The BMA, however, insists this isn’t good enough. Instead, they’re demanding a 29% uplift to restore pay to 2008 levels, after inflation.

Let’s just pause here. Imagine someone in the private sector marching into HR and asking for a 29% raise. They’d be laughed out of the room.

That's not to say doctors don’t have valid concerns; they absolutely do. But the demand itself is ludicrous and public opinion is catching on.

A new YouGov poll found more than half the public now oppose the strikes, with support dropping five points since last year. Even Labour’s Wes Streeting warned the public “will not forgive” continued strike action. And they won’t.

The walkouts have already wreaked havoc on waiting lists, put patients at risk and created a PR headache for Labour, who, let’s not forget, campaigned on resolving this very issue. So far, all they’ve done is recycled Conservative talking points.

STILL, Streeting has emerged as one of the few grownups in the room. His suggestion doctors could opt for higher take-home pay in exchange for a less generous pension is one of Whitehall’s most sensible proposals in recent memory.