Striking junior doctors marching with teachers in London, 26.4.2016, photo Paul Mattsson

Striking junior doctors marching with teachers in London, 26.4.2016, photo Paul Mattsson   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Build a mass movement to defend the NHS

Junior doctors are discussing the offer extracted from Jeremy Hunt. The full details will be published at the end of May. The very fact that the Tories were forced back into talks was a victory and was down to the incredible, tenacious strike action taken by 50,000 junior doctors in the BMA over the last five months.

Teachers made the Tories retreat over their plan to force all schools to become academies by 2022, with the National Union of Teachers’ threat to ballot all members. However, they intend to still have a strike vote because Education Minster Nicky Morgan still plans to push through her academy programme, which is linked to trying to end national pay and a squeeze in pay and conditions.

NUT members see the possibility of turning a partial retreat into a full-blown victory. Many junior doctors see the possibility to do the same with their dispute.

Also encouraged by the junior doctors’ example, the BMA GPs conference has voted to consult members for industrial action over the intolerable work pressures GPs now face.

There is the possibility to inflict a total defeat on what is a weak and divided Tory government. Scandalously, the TUC has allowed the junior doctors to fight alone, despite massive public support and solidarity from ordinary trade unionists.

On the eve of the last TUC general council, PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka spoke from the platform of the joint BMA-NUT London demonstration and announced that his union’s national executive committee that day voted to call on the TUC to organise a national day of action to support the junior doctors. That was ignored by the TUC.

Yet there is massive potential to build a mass movement to defend the NHS, headed by the junior doctors, the campaign to protect NHS bursaries and paramedics who are currently balloting for strikes over pay.

All health workers understand that they may very well be next after the junior doctors. Socialist Party members are prominent in the Huddersfield Royal Infirmary campaign that saw 8,000 march in February to fight the closure of their local A&E while 2,000 laid siege to a consultation meeting in April.

This could be replicated on a national basis, especially with NHS England plans to downgrade or close many more A&E departments. The trade union movement must take a lead and link up with the BMA and the other heath unions.

The Tories wanted this dispute to be their ‘miners’ strike’ – defeating a high profile group of workers to warn off others from taking industrial action. They have failed in this as the junior doctors are taking on the methods of the union movement and learning big lessons through the experience.

The fact that their recent conference agreed a motion calling on the BMA to work closely with other unions is a reflection of this understanding and their desire to seek solidarity.

Junior doctors are waiting for the detail of the new proposal to decide if it is worth accepting. It appears that the date for the new contract has been pushed back from August while BMA members vote on the offer.

Implementation is scheduled between October and April, depending on speciality. The Tories are arguing that the new offer is ‘cost-neutral’ – meaning that there is no new money on the table because they want to deny that they have made significant concessions.

No new money

However, if there is no new money, it will be unacceptable to many junior doctors who will realise that one of the central threats to their existing contract remains – making Saturday working up to 7pm part of their ‘core hours’, which won’t attract premium payments.

If the offer is rejected, we call on the BMA to demand an emergency meeting with the TUC general council to discuss the building of a mass campaign of joint strikes and demonstrations – including a national Saturday mobilisation in London – that can build a mass movement to inflict a total defeat on the Tories.