Striking young doctors have been branded “hypocrites” for wearing union-branded products made in China.
Doctors will picket for five days starting at 7am tomorrow in what will be their 11th strike in 15 months.
Many will wear bright orange clothing emblazoned with the British Medical Association logo, as they demand a 35 per cent pay rise and better working conditions.
But the Mail can reveal that the cheeky hats, which have featured prominently in photographs of previous attacks, have been imported from China.
Critics today denounced the hypocrisy, noting that workers in China are often subject to “terrible working conditions” and prevented from forming unions independent of state oversight.
Many striking doctors will be dressed in bright orange clothing emblazoned with the British Medical Association logo, as they seek a 35 per cent pay rise and better working conditions.
But the mail may reveal that the bold hats have been imported from China.
Orange hats have become synonymous with BMA picketing during previous industrial actions. Pictured are striking doctors outside St Thomas’ Hospital in Westminster on February 26 earlier this year.
Paul Bristow, running for re-election as a Conservative MP and who previously sat on the House of Commons health and social care committee, said: “The BMA campaigners are being hypocritical by handing out products made in China with their terrible work “. conditions.
“They need to end their posturing and strikes and get their members back to work.”
Dr Sean Phillips, head of health and social care at the Policy Exchange think tank, said: “It is becoming difficult to sympathize with the cause of BMA members dressing up as cut-price goods while talking about ‘cut-price doctors’. “.
He warned that patients will be harmed by the strike, which comes days before the general election and at a time when the government cannot commit to a new pay deal.
Dr Phillips added: “An ideological commitment to disrupting those running the NHS appears to outweigh a genuine willingness to seek compromise and agreement among current leaders.”
In 2022, local governments in cities and provinces in China offered pardons for “minor” violations of workers’ rights, including forcing employees to work dangerously long hours, in a bid to boost the economy after the pandemic.
A BMA spokesperson said: ‘The BMA has ethical procurement policies which we adhere to when we buy products and we believe that collaborating with ethical suppliers in other countries is beneficial to them.
“Before ordering hats, due diligence was done to ensure they were produced in factories where employment conditions and workers’ rights, as well as the supply chains and services they purchase, remain in line with internationally recognized conventions and agreements. local laws, at a minimum.’
