Junior doctors are striking again this week in their battle with Jeremy Hunt over the current contract he has imposed on them. The people who are advising Jeremy Hunt include members of the South West Pay,Terms and Conditions consortium who, in their 2013 plans, or proposed local rather than national pay negotiations,and major cuts in terms and conditions for the NHS workforce. These plans were thrown out by parliament at the time but seem to be the blueprint Jeremy Hunt is sticking to in the imposition of a current contract for junior doctors.Cutting the wages bill is part of the privatisation process as it is necessary whether future owners are to turn a profit. The consequences so far are the appalling problems of recruitment and retention we are now seeing, along with soaring bills for agency staff and serious gaps in staffing. The junior doctors dispute centres on the issue of terms and conditions because that is what they own a right to protest approximately, and but the bigger picture is their main concern. What is happening to the NHS amounts to theft,as public services and assets are handed over to UK and foreign private companies.
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Source: theguardian.com