Junior doctor and consultants strike outside QA Hospital

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:19 I'd like to start by saying that absolutely no doctor behind me on the picket line wants to be here taking strike action.

00:25 Doctors come to work to look after their patients. It's a duty that we take extremely seriously.

00:30 We are here taking strike action today, both consultants and junior doctors, because we feel that we have no alternative.

00:37 The government has failed to listen to us and has refused to negotiate on pay.

00:42 We have experienced a 35% cut in our pay over the last 15 years,

00:48 to the extent that we are now struggling to recruit and retain any permissions to serve the public.

00:55 Let's go pay the bills! Let's go pay the bills!

01:00 So my name is Penny Foskett. I'm a retired teacher, a member of the National Education Union.

01:06 I'm here today to show solidarity with the BMA workers who are on strike today.

01:11 So that's the junior doctors and the consultants.

01:15 I feel that the government is just not paying attention to who needs to be paid more money in this country.

01:22 We have workers who've worked their guts out during the pandemic, and as a reward they've had lots of claps,

01:29 but somehow those claps don't seem to translate into money when you're going to Tesco to do your shopping.

01:34 Their pay has not gone up with inflation, as most public sector workers' pay has not gone up with inflation,

01:40 and they have got to start doing something about it.

01:43 Otherwise, those consultants and junior doctors will head off to Australia, New Zealand, Canada,

01:50 where the pay, the conditions, the life is much, much better.

01:56 Any time that you get sick, they want to make a big profit.

02:01 Let's keep our NHS public over my dead body.

02:09 They're selling off our NHS over my dead body.

02:21 It pays with vested interest over my dead body.

02:27 What do they care about my health?

02:30 They're only thinking of themselves and how they're going to increase their wealth over my dead body.

02:46 They're selling off our NHS over my dead body.

02:52 I'll be finding them with my dying friends over my dead body.

02:59 Got no private health care, insurance policy, going to be the end of poor old me.

03:05 Let's keep our NHS public over my dead body.

03:15 Over my dead body.

03:21 [Applause]

03:25 [BLANK_AUDIO]