Quizzes & Puzzles19 mins ago
Junior Doctor Strike - Good For Them??
I'm open to be educated here but doctors on strike today and asking for a 35% pay increase. My question is really that nearly 70% of the country are supporting their action. Why is it so popular. Is it because we think they deserve such an increase or is it partly to support any group that helps to topple the government?
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by Prudie. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.
I actually don't understand the Midsomer thread reference, I never watched it but I assume it means middle class comfortably off people who live in the shires and dismiss the downtrodden poor because they don't think they exist?
I don't class junior doctors as downtrodden (my word, I know). Like most professional people they have to start at the bottom but have the potential to rise very comfortably up ladder, very comfortably. I always thought medical staff chose that career because they actually cared about people?
As for the angel bit, yes if you're ill they can be angels but so can many professions - for example plumbers, electricians, mechanics and even hairdressers when you need specialist knowledge to help you out of a problem.
I don't class junior doctors as downtrodden (my word, I know). Like most professional people they have to start at the bottom but have the potential to rise very comfortably up ladder, very comfortably. I always thought medical staff chose that career because they actually cared about people?
As for the angel bit, yes if you're ill they can be angels but so can many professions - for example plumbers, electricians, mechanics and even hairdressers when you need specialist knowledge to help you out of a problem.
I don't see why people doing something as a vocation precludes them wanting a decent amount of pay for it.
The context of the 35% pay rise claim is that this represents a return, in real terms, to the junior doctors' salary as it was in 2008. I would guess that this represents a peak, because the various graphs I've seen (eg https:/
Perhaps wanting to return at a stroke to 2008 levels is unachievable, and I wouldn't be surprised in this context if the various unions were prepared to settle for, say, a return to 2012/13 levels, which would be about half their pay demands. Then again, I'm not in the JD union, so what do I know as to what they'll settle for?
But once again the narrative that's skipped past here is that public sector pay has been significantly squeezed in the last 15 years or so, to the extent that many such workers have endured significant real-terms pay cuts. It isn't "greedy" to ask for that to be reversed.
The context of the 35% pay rise claim is that this represents a return, in real terms, to the junior doctors' salary as it was in 2008. I would guess that this represents a peak, because the various graphs I've seen (eg https:/
Perhaps wanting to return at a stroke to 2008 levels is unachievable, and I wouldn't be surprised in this context if the various unions were prepared to settle for, say, a return to 2012/13 levels, which would be about half their pay demands. Then again, I'm not in the JD union, so what do I know as to what they'll settle for?
But once again the narrative that's skipped past here is that public sector pay has been significantly squeezed in the last 15 years or so, to the extent that many such workers have endured significant real-terms pay cuts. It isn't "greedy" to ask for that to be reversed.
There are a number of professions that are below the rate they were on say 10 years ago but they have settled for less than they asked for originally as they knew it was unachievable. The doctors and their paymasters need to sit and discuss this and not just not do anything except blame one another for the stalemate. Also give the public the correct information about their pay and not just the minimum they could possibly be earning which is written on some of the placards.
Their work is essential and difficult… it must be done someone and cannot be done by anyone and for that reason they are indeed entitled to good compensation for their labour.
their pay has stagnated for a decade and we all lose out if they pursue more money elsewhere… you’re either willing to pay for a health service or you’re not
their pay has stagnated for a decade and we all lose out if they pursue more money elsewhere… you’re either willing to pay for a health service or you’re not
Last year a doctors campaign group was formed with the aim of restoring pay to the pre austerity days of 2008. That's 15 years, most of the doctors on strike were children then, they must have known what their salary would be after qualifying, if it was considered to be so low, why did they decide to become doctors?
I don't think anyone thinks they should be working just from the goodness of their heart but as said, most in the public sector have seen their pay reduced in real terms over the years. People I work with for starters. They do not have the luxury of holding the public over a barrel by striking though simply because their work doesn't seem to directly affect people in the street (even though in reality it does). Look who has been on the big strikes lately - nurses, doctors, ambulance workers - see a pattern?
And their training period is longer, Lady Birder! I often wish I could take myself to a vet. A vet used to live almost opposite to us. I will always remember him treating Mr T 's back with a new horse massager and horse linament. He went on to become a big name in the horse racing world. The vet, not Mr T.
Related Questions
Sorry, we can't find any related questions. Try using the search bar at the top of the page to search for some keywords, or choose a topic and submit your own question.