BMA to ballot junior doctors on industrial action
Junior doctors in England are to be balloted for industrial action, the British Medical Association has said.
The BMA junior doctors committee said the ballot is being held because the Government wants to impose new terms and conditions on trainees' contracts from August.
They described the reforms as "unsafe and unfair".
Trainee doctors in Scotland and Wales will not be balloted because they will not have to face new contracts.
In a statement on its website, The BMA said: "This is not a decision we have taken lightly, and we are fully aware of the implications, but such is the strength of feeling – not only within the committee, but also from junior doctors across the country – that we believe that this is the right thing to do to defend the current and next generations of junior doctors.
"The BMA wants the following concrete assurances in writing from the Government before we can agree to re-enter negotiations:
Proper recognition of antisocial hours as premium time
No disadvantage for those working antisocial hours compared to current system
No disadvantage for those working less than full time and taking parental leave compared to the current system
Pay for all work done
Proper hours safeguards protecting patients and their doctors
The BMA said the contract proposed by the Government "rides roughshod" over the best interests of doctors, of patients and of the NHS as a whole.
"Junior doctors have made it clear that they are not prepared to accept a contract that is unfair and unsafe," it said.
Ballot papers are expected to go out to doctors in training in England in the next few weeks.
Dr Johann Malawana, the new leader of the BMA junior doctors committee, described the decision as "a reflection of the anger felt by the thousands of junior doctors who have told us that the Government's position is not acceptable".
He called for proper negotiation, claiming: "The contract they want to impose will remove vital protections on safe working patterns, devalue evening and weekend work, and make specialities such as emergency medicine and general practice less attractive even though the NHS is already struggling to recruit and retain doctors to these areas of medicine.
"We remain committed to agreeing a contract that protects against junior doctors routinely working long hours, delivers a fair system of pay and does not disadvantage those in flexible working and we will not stand idly by as the Government imposes a contract that undermines that.
"We've already seen reports of high numbers of doctors considering leaving the NHS to work abroad. These figures should serve as a serious wake up call to the Government that there is a real risk that junior doctors will speak with their feet. To lose a large swathe of doctors in the early stages of their careers would be a disaster for the NHS."
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “We congratulate Johann Malawana on his appointment as the new leader of the BMA junior doctors’ committee, and look forward to working together to achieve our shared aims of a safer, higher quality, seven day NHS.
"However it’s disappointing that the junior doctors’ committee has decided to ballot for industrial action in advance of receiving a formal offer from the Government.
"We urge the BMA to reconsider this decision and come back to the table because there is a great deal to discuss about how we reward the profession.
“We are not cutting the paybill for junior doctors, and want to see their basic pay go up just as average earnings are maintained.
“We really value the work and commitment of junior doctors, but their current contract is outdated and unfair - the best way of changing that is negotiation."