Outraged MPs call for militant junior doctor leader to be sacked after he went on HOLIDAY and couldn’t go to negotiations as his colleagues started the most disruptive strike in NHS history
Outraged MPs have called for a militant junior doctors’ leader to be sacked for going on holiday during the most disruptive strike in NHS history.
The British Medical Association (BMA) last night asked the Government to attend talks with conciliation service Acas as they seek a 35 per cent pay rise, worth up to £20,000.
But Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairman of the union’s junior doctor committee, came under fire for taking the week off to be at a friend’s wedding, leaving him unable to attend negotiations.
The trainee GP, 28, played a key role in plotting the four-day walkout, during which time up to 47,600 medics below the rank of consultant are refusing to deliver any services, including A&E and cancer care.
While junior doctors who fail to turn up to work when scheduled to attend will lose pay, those who are absent because they had booked it off as holiday will be paid.
Choppy waters: Firebrand union leader Dr Robert Laurenson went on holiday during the strike
Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairman of the union’s junior doctor committee, came under fire for taking the week off to be at a friend’s wedding, leaving him unable to attend negotiation
Dr Laurenson played a key role in plotting the four-day walkout, during which up to 47,600 medics below the rank of consultant are refusing to deliver any services
Tory MP Mike Penning called for Dr Laurenson to be fired for his ‘hypocrisy’.
He said: ‘You can’t tell your members to give up pay and walk out on strike in pursuit of a large pay rise while you’re booking holiday – no matter how important the wedding. Going on holiday during a strike clearly shows he has no intention of negotiating for his members. You can’t negotiate during a wedding ceremony.’
Tory MP Paul Bristow, a member of the Commons health and social care committee, said: ‘Militant union leaders often demand their members take to the picket lines and lose pay but conveniently find a reason not to make the same sacrifice themselves.
‘Dr Laurenson should show solidarity by donating his salary to a fund that supports the union’s members or to a medical charity that can help patients impacted by the industrial action.’
Dr Laurenson even came under fire from his own uncle who said yesterday he ‘disagreed’ with his nephew’s conduct.
His uncle, also named Robert Laurenson, 72, a retired podiatrist, added: ‘They’re going on a four-day strike, what’s that about? I’ve got a hernia that’s not being treated.
‘I would like a 35 per cent increase on my pension. If they want 35 per cent, I want 35 per cent. I’ve worked 50 years in my business and come out with this, smallest house on the lane, I haven’t got a five-bedroom house.’
When asked what he thought about his nephew going on holiday right before the strike, he said: ‘He’s getting out of it. Getting out of conflict. I’m disgusted.’
Tory MP Mike Penning has called for Dr Laurenson to be fired for his ‘hypocrisy’
The NHS Confederation, which represents healthcare organisations, last night called on both the BMA and Health Secretary Steve Barclay to support the negotiations ‘as a matter of urgency’.
Downing Street insisted talks would only take place if the BMA abandon their starting position of a 35 per cent pay rise and call off the strikes.
Speaking on a trip to Belfast, Rishi Sunak said: ‘What I’m focused on is making sure we get the right outcome for patients and taxpayers.’
Union sources suggested they would reconsider the 35 per cent pay rise if factors such as tuition fees, student debt and exam fees were taken into account.