Junior doctors: industrial action

March 3, 2023

Colleagues may be aware from local and national news this week that the British Medical Association (BMA) have met the ballot threshold for industrial action and as such the BMA have confirmed strike action on from 06:59 on 13 March to 06:59 on the 16 March 2023 at the Trust. This a fully continuous strike for 72 hours, and there are no derogations. That means no clinical areas are exempt.

Extensive planning has been underway since we learnt of the possibility of industrial action and the Trust are working closely with the group leads to ensure robust plans are in place to maintain a safe level of services for patients and to support our colleagues who will be taking strike action.

In addition, the Trust has been working closely with local and regional BMA representatives to maintain open dialogue in order that we can support colleagues with strike action.  We are discussing the possibility of pickets on Trust sites, and these will be confirmed shortly.

As previously outlined, the Trust fully recognise that colleagues may want to exercise their legal right to take strike action. We have created an FAQ document which can be found on Connect for additional information and support about strike action. There are two FAQ documents, one for applicable for all staff groups and a second with pertinent FAQs for medical staff (Industrial Action (swbh.nhs.uk)). We would welcome any additional questions that colleagues may have and would advise that these are directed to your group HR support or to contact the HR advice line on EXT 6680 or via email at swb-tr.SWBH-GM-HR-Enquiries@nhs.net with any queries you may have.