NHS a lesson in politics: part VII
This post is going to be angry, because there are people who are in positions of power who really do not understand how this shit works. There are also some noisy shits as well.
Today one set of strikes have been postponed/called off.
No sooner had the dust settled on the announcement, a metric fucktonne of shit hit the fan in the facebook forum.
Lots of “ooooo it makes Hunt look reasonable” & “I want to know who voted to overturn the democratic mandate”
What are you striking for kids? Are you striking because you want a fairer contract, or are you wanting to walk out because you are angry? This is only one strike. The threat still remains.
You’d better make your mind up now, because the two are orthogonal. Here is a quote from the Telegraph
Asked if he would “impose” the new proposals, the Health Secretary said he may well take the “nuclear option” as a “last resort”, as further discussions between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Government continue today.
And now Sky News with a quote from Cameron:
David Cameron has refused to rule out imposing the new pay and hours contract on junior doctors if talks to resolve the dispute between medics and the Government fail.
You hear that? If you push your luck the government will shit on you. But it can’t just yet. Why? Because calling off the strikes make you look nice and understanding. Middle England won’t like the idea of the government forcing a unfair contract on poor junior doctors. It actually backs up your point that you are striking because you are desperate.
You strike now, when essentially the talks are progressing well, your public support that you crave so badly, will be out the window.
This fight is about strategy.
Right now, the government is stuck. Civil servants know that in five years time, they will be in the middle of closing hospitals all over the place because they do not have any staff to run them.
Various people have sneaked me some preliminary figures for applications to Specialist training. The results are grim kids. Fucking grim. Some rumours from the nurses are equally grim.
Funnily enough, the current negotiations are about the long term picture, not next week’s strike. If you want decent working conditions you need a decent contract. If the government thinks it can paint you as a bunch of striky-wikey baby killers who strike for no good reason, then you will have a shit contract.
All that work, all that marching, all that behind the scenes work gone, all that wrangling to get the public to listen to our cause. poof up in a pinch of smoke. All because you fuckers didn’t stop to think about the bigger picture. Strikes are a means to an end: Safer hospitals, more staff, happier doctors, better hours.
“How can you overturn a 98% democratic mandate!?”
You voted to strike because you were getting screwed over. You told the BMA to do whatever they see fit to get a better contract. The BMA have just said “We have made great progress, as a gesture of good faith, and to get more progress we have postponed the next strike. We still require more progress. The all out strike still remains. If you fuck with us, we will fuck with you. ENDS”
This is what you voted for. This is what I’ve been writing about. You strike as a means to an end, not because you want unpaid leave. I know you are angry.
Harness that anger
Perhaps you could use that anger, and new found confidence to tackle your peers and managers on why your environment is so shit? This whole process has demonstrated that actually junior doctors are capable of leadership. Now that you are BMA members, you have a fraternity of people to draw upon to make local changes.
There is nothing stopping you calling out illegal, unsafe, unfun working practices. You are missing three SHOs? tackle the over paid tory loving chief exec.
Elephant in the room
One of the things that really strikes me is the sheer fucking stupidity of some of people who supposedly represent you junior doctors. Which ever twat shat this quote out to the guardian is an utter utter liability:
“This isn’t peace in our time. It’s just a postponement of war.”
Firstly LEARN SOME FUCKING HISTORY, YOU UTTER UTTER CUNTBAG. The whole point of peace in our time is that its appeasement, as in war is coming there is nothing you can do to stop it. Just seriously why mix metaphors. muppetfucker.
Secondly, “postponement of war” What the actual fuck? What are you 15? You’re in a contract negotiation, something that will affect my wife’s life, and yet here you are dicking about pretending to be what I assume to be Winston Churchill. I can only hope that the BMA have the sense to use professionals, not you.
Nothing says “militant doctor” like badly quoting bits of WWII. That’s going to appear in a daily mail editorial. Thanks scrotumface. Thanks.
I assume you’re the same person who wants to morph this fight into an anti-austerity front against the Tory party, aligning the BMA to such election winning personalities as “Emily Thornberry”, “Lilian Greenwood” & “Vernon Coaker”
Stop giving shit to the right wing press to beat us with. I don’t condone austerity (neither do most economists) it’s based on a flawed spreadsheet. But and let me make this very clear: leave this fight to the grownups.