Jacob Rees-Mogg brands junior doctors ‘irresponsible’ for strike on GB News - current pay is ‘perfectly fair’

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Jacob Rees-Mogg has a few select words for junior doctors

Jacob Rees-Mogg has spoken out against junior doctors who are currently on strike for better pay, labelling the workers as ‘irresponsible’. The MP for North East Somerset said the overall pay package received by junior doctors is ‘perfectly fair’.

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Talking on his ‘State of The Nation’ show, which airs Monday to Thursday on GB News, the MP took issue with junior doctors striking over pay conditions.

“I think they [junior doctors] get a fair deal,” said Rees-Mogg. “They are better paid than people with other degrees and they get pensions that are much higher than anybody else’s.

“They can retire, mostly at 60, on £48,000 a year. I think the overall package is a perfectly fair one.” The former Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy was then asked why he thinks the doctors are on strike, replying “I think they’re deeply irresponsible.”

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The latest round of strike action comes after the government and British Medical Association (BMA) failed to reach an agreement on pay. The BMA is asking for a 35 per cent pay rise to make up for 15 years of below-inflation wage increases - but the government has labelled this unrealistic.

Junior doctors started their four-day strike on April 11, which is the second time junior doctors have staged a walk-out in less than a month. Hospital bosses have warned they “cannot guarantee” patient safety during the strike, which will involve more than 46,000 junior doctors.

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