Junior doctors appeal to Michelle Obama for support in contract dispute

Exclusive: Letter urges First Lady to lobby David Cameron over concerns new contract discriminates against women medics

The junior doctors' letter to Michelle Obama praises the First Lady’s 'inspirational' advocacy of women’s equality (Getty Images)

Junior doctors will seek Michelle Obama’s support in their dispute with the Government today, appealing to her to lobby David Cameron over concerns that the new controversial new contract discriminates against women medics.

In a letter to Mrs Obama, who arrived in the UK last night on a three-day visit with her husband, doctors praise the First Lady’s “inspirational” advocacy of women’s equality and outline their fears that the new contract will introduce a "gender pay gap" into the NHS, one of Europe’s biggest employers.

The letter, seen by The Independent, is backed by more than 2,000 doctors, its lead signatories said.

Their concerns centre on the Government’s own equality impact assessment (EIA) of the new junior doctor contract, which acknowledged that extra weekend working would “disproportionately” impact women who are more likely to have to arrange and pay for childcare, and that reforms to the way medics’ pay increases would also disproportionately hit the salaries of women who take time off to raise children.

Despite the findings, the Government’s EIA concluded the contract was not discriminatory. The contract has been criticised by a top UN health official. Jim Campbell, director of the World Health Organisation's Health Workforce director, criticised the contract's “regressive policies”.

Junior doctors will hold their first ever all-out strike next week over the Government’s decision to impose the new contract without the support of the British Medical Association.

The letter to Michelle Obama states: “We are junior doctors working in the UK’s National Health Service, writing to you with a heartfelt plea for help. We believe that our causes - healthcare and equality - transcend national borders. We would therefore be most indebted to you if you could raise our concerns with our Prime Minister, David Cameron, when you meet with him later today.

“Universal health care coverage for all citizens and equality for women, are both subjects that you have been an inspirational advocate for. The successes of your programme ‘Let Girls Learn’ speaks to us all as parents and carers, and as professionals who came into medicine believing that we are all equal.

“One distressing aspect of the new contract is its discriminatory nature. Our government's own assessment of the contract acknowledges that doctors who are women, single parents, carers or disabled are all discriminated against. The government does not try to hide this, but has instead brushed it off as collateral damage: 'A proportionate means of achieving a legitimate end'. Furthermore, according to the government's own analysis, the increased anti-social working hours in the contract, with no extra remuneration, 'will disproportionately disadvantage those who need to arrange childcare'. It is also anti-family.”

It points out that David Cameron co-chaired a UN commission report, presented at the UN Sustainable Development Goals summit in 2015, which committed the UK to “leading the way” in delivering a world “where women and girls are treated equally to men and boys” and concludes with an appeal to Mrs Obama “to you to use whatever influence you may have with the Prime Minister to encourage him to listen to our concerns and act accordingly.”

Dr Roshana Mehdian, the letter’s lead signatory said: “Regressive steps in gender equality, introducing a gender pay gap to one of the world’s largest employers and contravening one’s own UN commission, has no place in 2016. We hope that Mrs Obama, as a strong advocate for equality and healthcare, can make this clear to our Prime Minister. As he so clearly stated in his speech to the United Nations, 'the world is watching', perhaps the First Lady should remind him of this.”

A Department of Health spokesperson said: “This contract is a huge step forward for achieving fairness for all trainee doctors. For the first time junior doctors will be paid and rewarded solely on the basis of their own hard work and achievement. That is ultimately what employers and the BMA themselves want and everyone deserves — a level playing field.

“It's worth remembering that 90% of this contract was agreed with the BMA, and as the BMA's own lawyers' have advised, nothing in the new contract is discriminatory.”