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GPs vote for industrial action over being told to work Saturdays

GPs vote to strike over being told to work on Saturday's
GPs vote to strike over being told to work on Saturday's

GPs have voted in favour of industrial action over a new contract which forces practices to open on Saturdays.

Doctors at the British Medical Association (BMA) annual conference expressed solidarity with rail unions, urging fellow medics to “channel our inner Mick Lynch” in protest at new terms.

BMA members members voted 57 per cent in favour of a motion to “organise opposition to the imposition of the new contract including industrial action if necessary”.

While GPs would be unlikely to stop providing emergency and urgent care, they could refuse to carry out other routine work and they could cut their hours.

Proposing the motion, Dr Jacqueline Applebee, a GP from London, said: “The new contracts have already effectively been imposed. But that doesn’t mean that GPs are powerless to act. I know some of you will be worried about industrial action. But how much more can we take?”

She told the conference in Brighton that the medics’ union should follow rail unions in embracing industrial action - paying tribute to RMT chief Mick Lynch.

“We should take our lead from the RMT, they have quite rightly said enough is enough. No more pay erosion, no more service cuts… The RMT’s issues very much chime with those we face in the NHS - solidarity to them. So let’s channel our inner Mick Lynch. Please support this motion,” she said.

GPs vote to strike over being told to work on Saturday's - Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
GPs vote to strike over being told to work on Saturday's - Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The BMA has previously said it was “bitterly disappointed” with changes to the GP contract which the Government imposed in April without reaching an agreement with the union over its terms.

In 2021, the union carried out an indicative ballot which showed GPs supported taking industrial action in protest at their working conditions - but not enough members voted for it to have any legal weight.

There were cheers at the BMA’s annual meeting in Brighton on Monday as it was announced that 57 per cent of members had voted in favour of a motion agreeing the union would “act upon the GP ballot of 2021” and take industrial action if necessary.

In total, 26 per cent of members abstained and 17 per cent voted against the motion.

‘Enough is enough’

Doctors would need to be balloted again before any action could be taken.

Dr Applebee added: “To those of you who are nervous about industrial action, the landscape is changing all the time. Even the barristers were on strike yesterday. Enough is enough. How much longer can we go on? … We are heading for oblivion if we do not have the courage to fight for ourselves.”

But speaking against the move, Dr Kieran Sharrock, a negotiator on the contract and deputy chairman of England’s GP committee at the BMA, said there was “not a strong appetite” for industrial action.

Under the new contract, GPs are required to provide full services from 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, from October 1.

Doctors also argue that the terms are too inflexible, overly bureaucratic and take power away from GPs to decide how to allocate funding to best serve their communities.

They fear the changes are a move towards stripping GPs of their right to “independent contractor status”, which means they are self-employed and can manage practices as their own businesses.

Call for 30pc pay rise for all medics

On Monday the BMA passed a motion calling for a 30 per cent pay rise for all medics - threatening strike action if their demands were not delivered. The motion backed a campaign to increase pay for all doctors, including hospital consultants, who earn around £120,000 a year on average, and GPs, who earn an average of £100,000.

It also covered junior doctors, who earn between £29,000 and £58,000 per year.

The union had already said it will prepare for a ballot of junior doctors in England for strike action by early 2023, unless demands for a 30 per cent pay increase are met.

The vote on Tuesday focused on GPs - who have already voted in favour of industrial action, in a ballot last year, but held off taking it.

On Monday medics said a real-terms pay cut in the last 12 years meant doctors had lost millions of pounds each.

Dr Sharrock said the union would “continue to regularly engage with the GP profession to determine what their views are on the future of the core contract”.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: “We hugely value all our general practice staff and are incredibly grateful for their tireless efforts to provide care for us all.

“Evening and weekend GP appointments have been available to patients for several years, and the new contract aims to remove the current variation across the country and provide a more consistent offer for patients to level up health disparities.”