The recent letter [in the Sun Times] extolling the virtues of Dr Stanners misses the point. I have no doubt that he is a good man, who practices his profession with a caring and compassion. I was disappointed, however, when no mention was made of how he is bringing those attributes to bear in dealing with the current labour dispute at the FHO.
The offer of 1% per year for 3 years is nothing short of insulting. Threatening to fire half of their support staff and telling them that they will all end up on welfare is bullying plain and simple. It's disingenuous for them now to say that efficiencies have been revealed to them when such opportunities would have been apparent to any competent manager since well before the strike began. The abusive behaviour exhibited by some of the doctors and those who support them have been well documented. Unfortunately for Ms Lovell Stanners her husband will continue to be tarred with the same brush as those who lack such qualities as long as he continues to identify with their cause. It's time for him to step up and attempt to persuade those in management to inject some respect, caring and compassion into their bargaining position. It is after all the foundation upon which any settlement will ultimately be reached.
The doctors attempts to frustrate the efforts of those who seek to improve their standard of living through collective bargaining puts me in mind of the quote often mistakenly attributed to Marie Antoinette who, when told that the peasants had no bread said "Let them eat cake". And we all know how that turned out.
