April blog

Come on, Stevie Baby: get negotiations over today: full pay restoration!

Nobody in government seems remotely interested in restoring the NHS, never mind social care.
A workforce plan has been delayed and dismembered by Treasury-who, since Truss, have “no money for anything”, trying to prove to the markets that they are as tough as nails…
The latest fiction includes NO NUMBERS…!!!

Frontline unions have been shafted by Government smoke and mirrors: a one off bonus keeps a low base for future years. No new money- from existing stretched budget…
This micro bribe bakes in low pay. 10% for last year,5% from April would have been fair...
It will be used to limit restoration for junior doctors…
High prices will never decrease.
Inflation is merely the rate of increase- zero inflation keeps today’s high prices…

Consultants, GPs and junior doctors have for eighteen months warned that sudden, unexpected, humongous, surprise tax demands make them reduce their hours, reduce shifts...or retire early… or emigrate… or “go private”…

Perversely, the massive tax breaks just given for the richest will make them pile money into their pension pot and retire before the Labour governments pledge to re-reduce the lifetime allowance and raid pensions!

Why did not the DH set up a bespoke pension scheme for retiring doctors rather than a huge tax bonus for the 1% richest in general?
“We did not want to waste time setting up a bespoke scheme!”(only eighteen months to prepare a simpler, non punitive bespoke scheme…)

“We cannot have differing schemes for different groups!” (Why?- many different groups have different schemes…!)

The DH, instructed by Treasury now draft a workforce “plan” (very cunning, Baldrick) without any numbers to avoid spending any money…!

We need the wisdom of Solomon-unfortunately we have only MPs, Barclay, Sunak, Hunt, Hancock,

The overall tax take is record high: corporation tax 19 to 25%
Tax thresholds frozen in April
mean £500 more tax for basic rate taxpayers, and £100 more for higher rate
but a huge tax bonus for the very rich…

Surely, tax should be proportional, with thresholds rising yearly

Barclay (remember the superbly crafted Brexit?) has bean drafted in as the hard man, told to use every trick in the book to belittle and debase frontline NHS workers, not keep appointments, tell them to “go away and reflect”, rather than a wise restoration strategy, and truly independent DDPRB.
He asks JDs not to brief the media, AND THEN BRIEFS THE NHS-HATING MAIL AND TELEGRAPH...

This has hardened junior doctors resolve…

All the underpaid frontline staff should have
free parking
free meals and fluids
free accommodation on site after double shifts

For far too long, “junior” doctors have had to pay for their examination fees
should have a proper INDEPENDENT PAY REVIEW BODY
pay awards maintaining value despite high prices and inflation

Many are leaving in droves: Australia, New Zealand leads the tables…

We are led by donkeys: Hancock and Kwarteng ask for £10,000 a day for “consultancy”
Junior Docs on £14 an hour…

If you wanted to privatise a public service, you would want to run down and lower the staff
count by driving them away! Government are doing an excellent job!!!
A right wing capitalist government might concede to workers if they increase “profits”, but a public service does not yield profits to tax…

Have you noticed that since Dr David Owen,
none of the health ministers has been remotely interested in Health. Dr David Owen was a Doctor, his father was a Doctor, (Lansley deffo does not count…!)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary_of_state_and_social_care

No conscientious doctor would now have anything to do with No 10 or DHSS, ICBs...