DWYFOR Meirionnydd MS Mabon ap Gwynfor joined junior doctors on their longest walkout to date in their ongoing pay dispute with the Welsh Government. 

Mr ap Gwynfor, who is also Plaid Cymru health spokesperson, joined junior doctors on the picket line outside Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor this morning (March 25).

More than 3,000 BMA members are expected to take part in four days of industrial action. Industrial action started at 7am on Monday and will last until 7am on Friday (March 29).

Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said: "Junior doctors have seen their pay eroded continuously and is nearly a third less in real terms today than what it was fifteen years ago.

"The NHS is nothing without its dedicated workforce and that workforce deserves to be remunerated properly and to have the right working environment to provide the best care that they can.

"I joined junior doctors on the picket line outside Ysbyty Gwynedd today in solidarity with their calls for full pay restoration.

"They told me of the enormous pressure they are under, the low morale amongst staff, and the debilitating impact of staff retention issues.

"The decision to take industrial action is not one that they will have taken lightly.

"It is a profound disappointment that the Welsh Labour government continues to fail to grasp the seriousness of the situation and I call again on the health minister to properly engage with the BMA and restore full pay to our hard-working junior doctors.

"Our doctors are leaving Wales in droves to work in Australia and elsewhere where they are shown greater respect.

"The Government can't afford not to improve their offer, or we will sadly see more leaving. Therefore, getting around the table and resolving this is an urgent necessity."