Junior doctors in Wales strike over Welsh government pay offer
The 72-hour walkout comes after almost 98% of BMA members who voted in the ballot supported strike action. The Welsh government has said the industrial action is "disappointing".
Monday 15 January 2024 04:34, UK
Junior doctors in Wales are walking out over a pay dispute.
The 72-hour walkout begins on Monday after BMA members voted "overwhelmingly" for strike action last month.
The union says its members in Wales want to see their pay restored after a real-terms cut of nearly a third since 2009.
Almost 98% of those who voted in the ballot supported industrial action, the BMA said.
According to the union, over 3,000 doctors could walk out from Welsh hospitals and GP surgeries over the next three days.
Junior doctors in Wales were given a pay offer of 5% by the Welsh government in August.
England saw its longest strike in the history of the NHS last week as junior doctors there walked out having rejected the UK government's pay offer.
Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu and Dr Peter Fahey are co-chairs of BMA Cymru Wales's junior doctors committee.
They said members were "frustrated, in despair and angry".
"Pay needs to be fair and competitive with other healthcare systems across the world to retain and recruit doctors and NHS staff to provide much-needed care," they said.
"This is not a decision that has been made lightly. No doctor wants to take industrial action, but we have been given no choice."
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The Welsh government said it was "disappointing" that industrial action was taking place but a spokesperson said it understood "their strength of feeling".
"While we wish to address their pay restoration ambitions, our offer is at the limits of the finances available to us and reflects the position reached with the other health unions for this year," they said.
"Without additional funding from the UK government, we are not in a position to currently offer any more."
The Welsh Conservatives accused the government of having "not done enough to avert the strikes".
They said the government should "spend the full Barnett consequential [the method that decides how much money devolved governments get] on the health budget".