Free Trade Union of Medical Workers of Ukraine solidarity statement to BMA and UK resident doctors

The Free Trade Union of Medical Workers of Ukraine (affiliated to the Confederation of Trade Unions of Ukraine, KVPU), has sent the following statement of solidarity to resident doctors in the UK striking for pay restoration and more jobs.

See below for the PDF of the original letter sent to the chair and deputy chair of the BMA’s council, and a background note that was also sent, explaining the situation for the health system and health workers in Ukraine (the latter originally written for the European Federation of Public Service Unions).

Sending the letter, union president Oleg Panasenko added: “We believe that by supporting each other in our fight, we will definitely win.”

As Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, we also send support to the BMA. We encourage UK labour movement activists and others to join the resident doctors’ picket lines and protests, and to sign this solidarity statement.

We are working with UK health workers and unions to build stronger solidarity with our siblings in Ukraine, and hope to announce more on this front soon.

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To UK resident doctors and the British Medical Association,

I am writing on behalf of the Free Trade Union of Medical Workers of Ukraine (FTUMWU) to send our support to the BMA resident doctors’ strike.

We are eager to support the struggle of our colleagues in the UK for better wages, better working conditions and more jobs. We understand well the issues you are facing, since such contempt for doctors and other medical workers on the part of the authorities also occurs in Ukraine.

Even since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as Ukrainian workers and trade unions take part in the fight to defend our people and expel the occupiers, our struggle to defend workers’ rights and improve the services we provide continues.

We appreciate the support that UK trade unions, including healthcare unions, have given to Ukraine and its workers, including direct aid and assistance to medical workers. We hope that connections and solidarity between Ukrainian and UK medical workers will be strengthened in the months ahead.

Solidarity for your struggle, and let us know how we can support you.

Oleg Panasenko
President of FTUMWU, the Free Trade Union of Medical Workers of Ukraine (part of KVPU, the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine)