Junior doctors on strike at hospital in Reading over pay

A handful of doctors based at the hospital gathered at the London Road entrance for the strike, with car toots of support coming from drivers.

The doctors are demanding 'full pay restoration' after what they call the steep decline in pay faced by junior doctors since 2008/9.

One of the doctors, an Ear Nose and Throat registrar, said: "We always promised that as long as the government was in reasonable talks with an aim to full pay restoration, and they walked out just before the general election.

"We 've heard that the possible future health secretary is interested in talking on the Friday of the election, so there is a purpose to these strikes.

"This strike has taken place to put pressure on them to make sure they actually do it."

The doctor was referring to the previous shadow health secretary Wes Streeting, the Labour parliamentary candidate for Ilford North.

The strike was attended by junior doctors who are members of the British Medical Association (BMA) and two parliamentary candidates for the Reading Central constituency. 

Councillor Dave McElroy, the Green candidate has called on the next government to invest an extra £50bn a year to rescue an NHS at "breaking point".

He cited analysis from the charity We Own It, which revealed that private contractors make an estimated £10 million in profits from the NHS every week.

Cllr McElroy (Green, Redlands) said: “That’s got to stop. Years of underfunding and sneaky privatisation has left our NHS crumbling. It’s terrifying that an average 268 people die each week because of delays in their admission to hospital wards and yet Labour is only offering more of the same old privatisation and austerity, with less pay for staff and longer waiting lists for patients.

“The Green Party is the only major party that seems to be taking the NHS crisis seriously. While Labour are gambling everything on the bonkers growth of Trussonomics, the Greens are proposing a simple wealth tax that is extremely popular with the public.

"Our plans on this and reversing privatisation would allow us to increase funding for the NHS by £50bn a year. That money would restore NHS salaries, ensure rapid GP access, provide same-day urgent care, and guarantee everyone an NHS dentist.

“ We would keep the Royal Berks Hospital in Reading where it belongs, rather than selling out the site to developers. That we can do all this by putting such a middling tax on the extreme wealth of less than one per cent of the British public to the benefit of literally everyone else is a no brainer."

He added: "Don't listen to the haters, you are doing the right thing."

Junior doctors and student protesters from the Revolutionary Communist Party at the strike picket at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. (Image: James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporting Service)

Adam Gillman, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidate for Reading Central said: "We support the strike.

"We [TUSC] are always on the picket lines way before the election.

"We feel they deserve a pay rise and better conditions. Most workers have had a real-term pay cut upwards of 10 per cent.

"It's really good to see workers striking and fighting back, and we hope they continue to fight back under a [Sir Keir] Starmer Labour government."

Turning 18 in April, Mr Gillman is one of the youngest election candidates in the country.

Adam Gillman, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) candidate for the Reading Central constituency at the junior doctors strike picket at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. Credit: James Aldridge, LDRS (Image: James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporting Service)

Responding to news of the strike, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said:"Patient safety will be the priority during industrial action and the NHS has prepared for these strikes in the usual way.

"NHS England is working closely with unions to discuss any patient safety concerns and ensuring safe staffing for emergency care continues to be available."

The strike was also attended by student members of the Reading branch of the Revolutionary Communist Party, who have also been part of an encampment at the University of Reading calling for an end to Israeli military action in Gaza.