Sheffield Green councillors will submit a motion at Wednesday’s Sheffield City Council meeting calling upon the council to support junior doctors in their ongoing dispute with the government over pay and conditions. Green councillors will also be supporting the junior doctors on the picket lines tomorrow.
Broomhill Green councillor Brian Webster, who is proposing the motion said, “It is clear that the proposed contract is completely unfair for doctors and unsafe for patients. Sheffield’s hospitals are truly world-class, and employ thousands of local people. It is only fair that the people who are looking after our health and wellbeing are paid well and not forced to work excessive hours.”
Cllr Brian Webster will be visiting the picket lines.
Note:
The motion submitted is number 14 at http://sheffielddemocracy.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=154&MId=6019&Ver=4. The motion was submitted before agreement to discuss talks at ACAS and clause H will be amended to reflect this before the motion is put. The current wording is:
Notice of Motion given by Councillor Brian Webster
That this Council:- (a) believes in the fundamental principle of the NHS – that quality healthcare should be accessible by all, and free at the point of access – and understands that this would not be possible without the contributions made every day by the dedicated and highly skilled professionals who work in the health service; (b) notes that Sheffield is privileged to be the location of a number of world-class NHS hospitals, which not only help to keep people healthy and save lives, but are also major employers in this city; (c) believes that junior doctors are a vital part of the healthcare team that keeps hospitals in Sheffield and across the country functioning at their best, and believes that without their efforts the NHS would be unable to function; (d) believes it is only fair that those who are working hard to protect the health and wellbeing of the people of Sheffield should be fairly rewarded for their efforts, with appropriate compensation and with adequate safeguards to prevent staff being required to work excessive hours; (e) notes the nearly unanimous (98%) support from junior doctors balloted for strike action in response to the proposed new junior doctors’ contract, on a turnout of 76%; (f) respects this result, fully supports the right of junior doctors to take industrial action, and agrees with the British Medical Association’s (BMA) assessment that the proposed new contract is “unsafe for patients and unfair for doctors”; (g) welcomes the commitment of the BMA to take steps to ensure that urgent and essential care can be provided by other doctors and NHS staff in the event of a strike; (h) hopes that strike action by junior doctors can be avoided by a fair and mutually agreeable deal being reached between the BMA and the Secretary of State for Health, and therefore urges the Secretary of State to accept the BMA’s offer of going to the Acas mediation service for further negotiations to reach such a deal; (i) believes that if a fair resolution to this dispute cannot be found, the Secretary of State risks driving many junior doctors out of the profession, or even out of the country entirely, in search of fair pay and employment conditions, and believes that this would be a regrettable outcome and deeply damaging to Sheffield’s hospitals and to the NHS in general; (j) calls upon all Members to support junior doctors in their ongoing fight for a fair contract, including in the event of industrial action; and (k) requests officers to send a copy of this motion to the Secretary of State for Health, and to the Yorkshire Regional Junior Doctor Committee. |