Junior doctors in England will stage four more days of strikes after talks with the Government failed to resolve a bitter row over pay.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay has failed to make any “credible offer since they last walked out in March, the British Medical Association union (BMA) said.
“It is with disappointment and great frustration that we must announce this new industrial action,” said Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairs of the BMA junior doctor committee.
“The Government has dragged its feet at every opportunity. It has not presented any credible offer and is refusing to accept that there is any case for pay restoration, describing our central ask as 'unrealistic' and 'unreasonable'.
“Even yesterday they continued to add new unacceptable preconditions to talks instead of getting on and trying to find a resolution.
“We therefore have no confidence that without further action these negotiations can be successful. This situation is entirely of the Government's own making.
“We want to spend our time looking after patients, not on strike, but with an NHS buckling under a workforce crisis, and four in 10 junior doctors looking to leave, we can't stand by while our pay is further eroded by inflation and an intransigent Government.
“We are not going to stop until we are paid what we are worth, and if ministers don't accept that when we tell them in person, we will have to tell them from the picket line.”
Why are junior doctors going on strike in England?
The 96-hour walkout will take place for shifts starting between 7am on April 11 and 7am on April 15, the BMA said.
An earlier strike by junior doctors coincided with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s budget on March 15.
BMA chairman Professor Philip Banfield has argued that junior doctors received a series of “sub-inflation pay rises” which means they are earning about a third less than they would have in 2008.
The BMA wants to see a reversal of what it calls a 26 per cent cut in real wages since 2008-2009.
A message to members on the British Medical Association website said: “We are holding a 96-hour walk out of all junior doctors in England in order to achieve a full pay restoration. This is our second round of action.
“This means you should not attend any shifts starting after 6.59am on 11 April. You can then attend any shifts starting from 7am on the 15 April.”
