England's junior doctors are gearing up for a five-day strike due to unresolved pay disputes with the government.
This strike, starting Saturday at 7am and ending on the evening of February 28, will see a significant number of medical practitioners stepping away from their duties.
The impending strike has sparked a response from Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins, who has publicly criticised the British Medical Association's decision-making process, claiming it “refused to put our offer to their members”.
Ms Atkins said the union was told the government had been “prepared to go further than the pay increase of up to 10.3 per cent that they have already received”, emphasising the need for continued dialogue to avoid the strike.
Counterarguments from the BMA's junior doctors' committee, led by Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, underscored their perspective.
They argue that the government's reluctance to offer a substantial pay increase has led to this deadlock.
“The government could have stopped these strikes by simply making a credible pay offer for junior doctors in England to begin reversing the pay cuts they have inflicted upon us for more than a decade”.
They pointed out that their willingness to postpone the strike for further negotiations was ignored, indicating the government's preference for confrontation over compromise.
“The same government could have even accepted our offer to delay this round of strike action to give more space for talks, all we asked for in return was a short extension of our mandate to strike,” they said.
“The fact that ministers have chosen strike action over what could have been the end of this year’s pay dispute is disappointing to say the least.”
This strike marks the continuation of a series of strikes by junior doctors, who previously staged the longest walkout in the National Health Service's history earlier in January.
The accumulation of strikes since March 2023 has resulted in significant operational disruptions, with more than 1.3 million medical appointments and procedures cancelled or postponed.
The government warned of the severe impact these strikes have on the NHS's functionality, with Ms Atkins expressing her desire to see medical professionals return to work rather than participate in picketing.
She reiterated the importance of maintaining treatment services during this period and urged the BMA to reconsider their stance for the sake of patient care.
Labour’s shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, has voiced his concern over the detrimental effects of the continuing strikes on patient care, attributing the responsibility to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's refusal to engage in meaningful negotiations.
Mr Streeting criticised the government's approach to handling the crisis, emphasising the avoidable nature of the service interruptions and their extensive cost to the NHS.
“The second year of strikes is having a devastating impact on patients,” he said, adding that the 1.3 million cancelled operations and appointments have cost the NHS billions.
“Never forget that Rishi Sunak could end these strikes, but is refusing to negotiate.
“He would rather blame doctors and nurses for the appalling state of the NHS than take any responsibility himself.”
The BMA remains open to further negotiations but has not discounted the possibility of additional strikes.
They have been advocating a “pay restoration” of 35 per cent to address what they describe as more than a decade of eroding salaries.
Junior doctors, who form a substantial portion of the NHS workforce and possess significant experience in various medical fields, are at the heart of this dispute.
Moreover, junior doctors affiliated with the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association are also planning to join the strike later this month, potentially exacerbating the strain on the NHS's ability to deliver essential services.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Profile
Company name: NutriCal
Started: 2019
Founder: Soniya Ashar
Based: Dubai
Industry: Food Technology
Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount
Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia
Total Clients: Over 50
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
Company%20profile
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Key 2013/14 UAE Motorsport dates
October 4: Round One of Rotax Max Challenge, Al Ain (karting)
October 1: 1 Round One of the inaugural UAE Desert Championship (rally)
November 1-3: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Formula One)
November 28-30: Dubai International Rally
January 9-11: 24Hrs of Dubai (Touring Cars / Endurance)
March 21: Round 11 of Rotax Max Challenge, Muscat, Oman (karting)
April 4-10: Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (Endurance)
More on animal trafficking
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
