Latest news with #RDC
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
BJD to gherao RDC offices on July 21
1 2 Bhubaneswar: BJD announced on Friday that it will gherao all three revenue divisional commissioner (RDC) offices in Berhampur, Cuttack and Sambalpur on July 21 protesting alleged systemic failure which led to self-immolation by the 20-year-old student in Balasore. BJD senior vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra said, "This unfortunate incident has deeply saddened the state, and BJD is determined to fight for justice for the girl and her family." BJD, its student and youth wings, began state-wide protests following the death of the girl on July 14. BJD has demanded the resignation of the higher education minister and a judicial inquiry into the incident by a sitting judge of Orissa high court. Mishra declared that until justice is delivered to the girl, BJD will only intensify the agitation. Regarding the Ravenshaw University campus restriction order for women, BJD termed it a "Talibani" order. BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the directive clearly reflects the govt's regressive approach to women's freedom. "At a time when cases of atrocities against women are rising in the state, the govt's failure to ensure their safety has been exposed. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Hear better, live easier Amplifon Book Now Undo This Taliban-style notice clearly illustrates the govt's anti-women mindset," he alleged. "Though the notice was later withdrawn following public outrage, we demand the higher education minister and Union education minister issue a clarification on how such a regressive order was allowed," he added. BJP state vice-president Biranchi Narayan Tripathy said BJD is holding protests to maintain its relevance. "Odisha has rejected the BJD. They are protesting to gain political brownie points from an unfortunate incident," he added.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Why doctors' strike action is becoming increasingly likely
Talks between the Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) and Health Secretary Wes Streeting failed to resolve the ongoing pay dispute, leaving a "very small window of opportunity" to avert strikes. A five-day walkout by resident doctors in England is scheduled to begin on 25 July, threatening significant disruption to the NHS. Wes Streeting reiterated that the government cannot increase pay further after a 28.9 per cent rise, but is exploring ways to improve doctors' working lives. The RDC co-chairs stated that while working conditions are being considered, a pay deal remains "probably the simplest solution" and expressed readiness for further discussions. Previous strikes cost the NHS an estimated £1.5 billion and led to 1.5 million postponed appointments, with recent reports linking some patient deaths to the disruption.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Government ‘has very small window' to prevent doctors' strike as talks fail to reach resolution
Crunch talks between doctors and health secretary Wes Streeting to avert next week's strikes failed to reach a resolution on Thursday. There is now a 'very small window of opportunity' for the government and resident doctors to reach an agreement to avert strike action, the Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) has warned. A five-day walkout is scheduled to start next week and could cause significant upheaval to the NHS in England. Co-chairs of the RDC – part of the British Medical Association (BMA) – said they had an 'open and frank' conversation with Streeting on Thursday afternoon, but no resolution was reached. After the meeting, Streeting reiterated that 'we cannot move on pay after a 28.9 per cent pay rise' but the government is looking at ways to improve resident doctors' working lives. RDC co-chairs said working conditions are being considered but a pay deal is 'probably the simplest solution'. Neither the RDC or the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed a date for the next talks. Asked if they would meet with the Health Secretary on Friday, Dr Ross Nieuwoudt told reporters: 'Well, if Wes Streeting is free I'd be happy to.' His co-chair Dr Melissa Ryan said: 'The advantage of being a doctor is that we're used to working all hours of all days, so we said we're available at any moment to continue our talks.' Dr Nieuwoudt added: 'We have a very small window of opportunity over the next few days to avert strike action. 'Talks today have been constructive, they're a first step, it was a very high-level discussion, we're looking forward to more discussions to hopefully avert strike action.' After the meeting, Streeting said in a statement: 'We had a constructive conversation with the BMA (British Medical Association) today and we'll be having further conversations in the coming days to try to avert strike action. 'While we cannot move on pay after a 28.9 per cent pay rise, we are working on areas where we can improve working lives for resident doctors. 'Strikes have a serious cost for patients, so I am appealing to the BMA to call them off and instead work together to improve their members' working conditions and continue rebuilding the NHS.' Ahead of the meeting at Portcullis House, it was put to the RDC co-chairs that the public was 'broadly on-side' for the previous round of strikes but support is now 'waning'. Dr Ryan responded: 'I think that the public is behind us in the sense that they want to see doctors paid fairly, they want doctors to be in the NHS, doctors retained, because ultimately they want good care'. On Tuesday, NHS leaders said there was no extra money to cover industrial action by resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors. The last round of strikes, which also included walkouts by other health workers, came at an estimated cost of £1.5 billion to the NHS in England. Some 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations were postponed as a result of the stoppages. On Thursday, The Times reported that it had seen an audit which found that five patients died as a result of disruption linked to strikes by junior doctors in 2023 and 2024. One prevention of future death report detailed how 71-year-old Daphne Austin, who had a kidney injury, died after getting 'no medical input' on one of the strike days because the consultant who was covering was in charge of 25 patients. Another states that 60-year-old John Doyle died of 'natural causes against a background of missed opportunities to diagnose and treat cytomegalovirus infection, together with the impact of the resident (formerly junior) doctors' strike on the provision of consistent patient care'. Asked if they recognise the report in The Times as true, Dr Nieuwoudt said: 'The evidence that we've seen, the evidence over the past few years, is that the processes that we have in place in order to maintain patient safety are robust and they've been working well, they've been the processes that have been in place since 2016 and over 11 rounds of industrial action.' He added: 'What you're seeing, instead of resident doctors in the hospitals, is the most highly trained and specialised doctors looking after acute patients. 'We just need to ensure that the (NHS) trusts are picking up their responsibility of cancelling elective services and moving those consultants over to where they're needed, which is protecting the patients in acute setting during industrial action.' The strikes ended last September when resident doctor members voted to accept a government pay deal worth 22.3 per cent on average over two years. The 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a four per cent increase plus £750 'on a consolidated basis', working out as an average rise of 5.4 per cent. Government officials said these two increases equate to a 28.9 per cent pay rise. But the BMA said resident doctors need 29.2 per cent to reverse 'pay erosion' since 2008/09. Earlier this month, the union announced that resident doctors in England would strike for five days from 7am on July 25.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Doctors set for crunch talks with government to halt five-day strike
Doctors are set for crunch talks with the government on Thursday to halt strike action. Resident doctors are willing to 'discuss all options' in the talks to prevent the five-day walkout due to start next week, the co-chair of the Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) has said. The RDC – part of the British Medical Association (BMA) – is meeting with Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Thursday afternoon. Discussions could be tense after Mr Streeting told MPs on Monday that he did not see a 'reasonable trade union partner' in the RDC 'at this time'. The Cabinet minister has insisted the government will not budge on pay, but said discussions could focus on improving working lives of resident doctors. RDC co-chairs were asked if they would accept an offer on working conditions as they arrived for talks at Portcullis House shortly before 3pm. Dr Melissa Ryan told reporters: 'We're willing to be here and discuss all options with Mr Streeting, we're very flexible – we're just interested to hear what he has to say.' It was put to the RDC co-chairs that the public was 'broadly on-side' for the previous round of strikes but support is now 'waning'. Dr Ryan responded: 'I think that the public is behind us in the sense that they want to see doctors paid fairly, they want doctors to be in the NHS, doctors retained, because ultimately they want good care and that's what we're here to talk to Wes Streeting about today.' Dr Ryan's co-chair Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said: 'We're hopeful and we're confident that Wes Streeting is going to come to us with a credible offer to avert these strikes, that's what we're here for today, that's what we're looking to achieve. 'So now it's up to him, the ball's in his court, we're here to talk – hopefully those conversations will go somewhere.' On Tuesday, NHS leaders said there was no extra money to cover industrial action by resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors. The last round of strikes, which also included walkouts by other health workers, came at an estimated cost of £1.5 billion to the NHS in England. Some 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations were postponed as a result of the stoppages. On Thursday, The Times reported that it had seen an audit which found that five patients died as a result of disruption linked to strikes by junior doctors in 2023 and 2024. One prevention of future death report detailed how 71-year-old Daphne Austin, who had a kidney injury, died after getting 'no medical input' on one of the strike days because the consultant who was covering was in charge of 25 patients. Another states that 60-year-old John Doyle died of 'natural causes against a background of missed opportunities to diagnose and treat cytomegalovirus infection, together with the impact of the resident (formerly junior) doctors' strike on the provision of consistent patient care'. The strikes ended last September when resident doctor members voted to accept a government pay deal worth 22.3 per cent on average over two years. The 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a four per cent increase plus £750 'on a consolidated basis', working out as an average rise of 5.4 per cent. Government officials said these two increases equate to a 28.9 per cent pay rise. But the BMA said resident doctors need 29.2 per cent to reverse 'pay erosion' since 2008/09. Earlier this month, the union announced that resident doctors in England would strike for five days from 7am on July 25.
ITV News
4 days ago
- Health
- ITV News
Health secretary to meet resident doctors in last-ditch bid to avert strikes
Wes Streeting will attempt to prevent a five-day walkout by resident doctors, formerly called junior doctors, set to start next week Crunch talks between Health Secretary Wes Streeting and resident doctors are due to take place on Thursday in a bid to prevent five consecutive days of strike action. The Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) - part of the British Medical Association (BMA) - says its demands for a 29.2% salary increase is needed to reverse "pay erosion" since 2008. It said this figure is based on Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation, the measure of average changes in the price of goods and services used by most households. If talks fail, resident doctors in England are due to go on strike for five days from 7 am on July 25. The last bout of strikes ended last September when resident doctor members voted to accept a government pay deal worth 22.3% on average over two years. Discussions this time around could be tense, after Streeting told MPs on Monday that he did not see a 'reasonable trade union partner' in the RDC 'at this time'. He has insisted the government will not budge on pay, but said discussions could focus on improving the working lives of resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors. In a joint statement issued at the weekend, RDC co-chairs Dr Ross Nieuwoudt and Dr Melissa Ryan said they were hoping to 'find a solution that our members will find acceptable and that can prevent any strike action having to take place'. What happened the last time there were doctors' strikes? A long-running wave of strikes began in March 2023 following demands by the BMA for a substantial pay rise for doctors. It said at the time that newly-qualified medics earned just £14.09 an hour, meaning they could earn more if they worked at Pret-A-Manger. The union argued that resident doctors' pay had fallen 26% since 2008-2009 in real terms and asked the government for pay restoration. After the previous Conservative government refused to come to the negotiating table, talks with the Department of Health following Labour's election victory in July 2024 was hailed as a positive step forward. In September last year, resident doctors accepted a government pay deal worth 22.3% on average over two years, bringing to an end more than a year of strike action. At the time, the BMA said 66% of their members voted to accept the deal; they also said the government had agreed separately to swap the term 'junior doctor' for 'resident doctor' to better reflect their expertise. The 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a 4% increase plus £750 'on a consolidated basis', working out as an average rise of 5.4%. Government officials said these two increases meant resident doctors had seen an average increase in pay of 28.9% over the last three years. In May this year, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it expected the average full-time basic pay for resident doctors to reach approximately £54,300 in 2025 to 2026 following the agreed-upon increase. However, the BMA has been pushing back, saying resident doctors need 29.2% to reverse 'pay erosion' since 2008/09. In September last year, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that NHS strikes in general had cost the taxpayer almost £1.7 billion since April 2023, adding that 1.5 million appointments had been cancelled. However, the DHSC later confirmed that the figure came from financial directions to NHS England and referred to the cost of all NHS England strikes in 2023/24, according to FullFact. This means the figure did not include resident doctors' strikes in June and July 2024, nor strikes in March 2023, when the dispute began.
