The junior doctor's leader Johann Malawana has appealed that paediatric units should not be included in their total walkouts has fallen on deaf ears.
According to The Times a spokesman for the BMA has said "No junior doctor wants to have to take any action (funny how all unions say that when they are about to take their members out the door) , but they have already done everything in their power to make their voices heard. By continuing to ignore them the government has left them with no alternative"(also a pretty stock unionspeak statement).
The fact is the government has listened to them,negotiated, made some concessions (more money) and now says "No more". That's not unreasonable.
The union position seems to be that unless they say "Yes" (more money) , then they haven't listened.
The idea that the parties should always "get around the table" comes from the Harold Wilson beer and sandwiches era so beloved of the union heavies. It meant that whether the cause/claim was reasonable or unreasonable there would always be a deaL No surprise that there were a lot of claims, a lot of strikes and a lot of ultimately expensive evenings at Number 10. The notion of a Prime Minister getting involved was absurd. Equally so for CEOs in the private sector. Once unions can get to the top that's where they and everything will go. Everyone lower down the tree is disenfranchised and may as well not bother to try to negotiate or impose a settlement lower at a sensible working level.
It seems that Mr Malawana may be discovering how difficult it is to put the genie back in the bottle once it as been encouraged to come out all guns blazing. His committee, presumably a rather unsmiling hardcore of activists is developing a life of its own and in the process running the risk of the so far onside,- one might say inexplicably gullible if Mr Hunt's own PR wasn't poor enough to perhaps excuse it public,-beginning to say they don't like what's going on after all because their children or grannies have suffered problems during all this sanctimonious carryon.
All that apart, the junior doctors' reckless abandonment of their core professionalism risks not just lives but the whole way they are seen for evermore. Can they really afford or do they want to risk perceived trust, integrity and capability just for a few more percentage points more in their already far from impoverished pockets? Professionalism is under attack from mercenaries all the time. It would be sad to see the doctors led into being just another example of the latter. They will have to make their own minds up though. It's not something the brothers lose much sleep about.
According to The Times a spokesman for the BMA has said "No junior doctor wants to have to take any action (funny how all unions say that when they are about to take their members out the door) , but they have already done everything in their power to make their voices heard. By continuing to ignore them the government has left them with no alternative"(also a pretty stock unionspeak statement).
The fact is the government has listened to them,negotiated, made some concessions (more money) and now says "No more". That's not unreasonable.
The union position seems to be that unless they say "Yes" (more money) , then they haven't listened.
The idea that the parties should always "get around the table" comes from the Harold Wilson beer and sandwiches era so beloved of the union heavies. It meant that whether the cause/claim was reasonable or unreasonable there would always be a deaL No surprise that there were a lot of claims, a lot of strikes and a lot of ultimately expensive evenings at Number 10. The notion of a Prime Minister getting involved was absurd. Equally so for CEOs in the private sector. Once unions can get to the top that's where they and everything will go. Everyone lower down the tree is disenfranchised and may as well not bother to try to negotiate or impose a settlement lower at a sensible working level.
It seems that Mr Malawana may be discovering how difficult it is to put the genie back in the bottle once it as been encouraged to come out all guns blazing. His committee, presumably a rather unsmiling hardcore of activists is developing a life of its own and in the process running the risk of the so far onside,- one might say inexplicably gullible if Mr Hunt's own PR wasn't poor enough to perhaps excuse it public,-beginning to say they don't like what's going on after all because their children or grannies have suffered problems during all this sanctimonious carryon.
All that apart, the junior doctors' reckless abandonment of their core professionalism risks not just lives but the whole way they are seen for evermore. Can they really afford or do they want to risk perceived trust, integrity and capability just for a few more percentage points more in their already far from impoverished pockets? Professionalism is under attack from mercenaries all the time. It would be sad to see the doctors led into being just another example of the latter. They will have to make their own minds up though. It's not something the brothers lose much sleep about.
