Read to the end for the latest on the junior doctors dispute, how Germany is plugging the care crisis, and a devout cat joining Ramadan prayers. 

Morning team, 

During a spot of frenzied spring cleaning, a friend of mine got a concussion on Sunday. Panicking, I told him “if you’re thinking of going to A&E you’d better go right now!”

Junior doctors are today on day two of their mass walk out, having started at 7am on Monday morning. The industrial action is a step up from the three-day strike in mid-March in the escalating dispute over pay which will likely cause huge disruption to NHS treatment.

Paramedics, nurses and other healthcare workers in the NHS recently received a new offer from the government that could halt their strike action, with union members currently voting on whether or not to accept the deal of a 5.2 per cent pay rise from April plus two one-off payments at 2 per cent and 4 per cent.

But junior doctors are on a different pay scale, and their ask sounds like a hell of a lot more. They’re calling for a 35 per cent pay rise to restore their pay checks to what they were worth in 2008, with many junior doctors being paid just £14 an hour. 

“I would ask the public if they think a junior doctor working at 7pm on a Friday night is worth £19 an hour?” striking junior doctor Arjan Singh told The Big Issue. “If they agree, they’re on our side.”

“We are going to see the biggest brain drain and the haemorrhage of doctors to Australia and Canada where they have also got a shortage of doctors, but are treating their doctors a lot better than we are here.” he continued. “You don't have a healthcare service if you haven't got any doctors.”

And yet, thousands of trained medics are unable to work while their asylum claims are being processed. While it’s indisputable that a system which bumped asylum seekers with more in-demand qualifications to the top of the queue would be unjust, it’s undeniable that this would ease the NHS recruitment crisis. 

Know someone who will love this newsletter? Share our sign-up article with your social networks. And why not check out Survival Guide, our newsletter on the cost of living crisis from my colleague Isabella McRae.

What you need to know about work this week:

Rewarding rule-breaking. The government awarded contracts to at least 12 companies it previously “named and shamed” for failing to pay the minimum wage. Ben Gartside has the exclusive for the i.  

On the job. More people are turning to sex work amid the cost-of-living crisis, but what needs to be done to protect them while they’re working? This is a brilliant deep dive from Cosmopolitan’s Jennifer Savin into what happened when a Leeds neighbourhood decriminalised sex work, and how it’s shaped the community a year after the experiment ended. 

Hot take. Ok so AI is likely to take a good chunk of our jobs, but rather than leading to mass unemployment, why shouldn’t it mean more productivity and therefore more time off? Nobel prize winning labour economist Chris Pissarides has suggested that ChatGPT opens the door to a four-day week and I’m so here for it. 

“Sexual harassment on an industrial scale.” A new bill to prevent sexual harassment at work may be dropped because of backlash from Tory MPs, say unions who are angry at the u-turn. The consultation was headed up by Liz Truss, back before her short stint as PM. The Big Issue reported that the bill’s progress seemed to be grinding to a halt last August. 

In case you didn't know, Big issue Group is committed to changing lives for the better by giving people the best opportunity to help themselves. That's why we set up Big Issue Recruit, to find even more ways to offer vulnerable or marginalised people a route into work and end poverty for good.

Find out more on the Big Issue Recruit website.

Lost in time. People in prison are often barred from technology, leaving them without the basic tools they need to get a job and survive in the outside world. Many older prisoners serving long sentences have never held a digital device. The Big Issue's own Isabella McRae has the story. 

Sacked. The boss of one of Britain’s largest business groups, Tony Danker, has been fired following an independent investigation into complaints of workplace misconduct. Danker led the Confederation of British Industry which has itself lobbied for policies to encourage women into the workforce. Rain Newton-Smith will take his place.

A name for everyone. According to new LinkedIn research, managers who make it clear they are leaving the office - think slapping the laptop lid closed and dramatically packing up - so that others feel comfortable about knocking off at a reasonable time, are called “loud leavers”. Good for them (and the rest of us) I say.

Strike watch

Shock closure. 50 nursery staff members have lost their jobs when a nursery closed without warning days after a one-day strike. Having joined with union Unite, they are thought to be the first group of early-years workers to have their union recognised in England.

Take a look at our comprehensive list of upcoming national strike dates.

A global solution 🇩🇪

Like Britain, Germany has an ageing population and abundant labour shortages. However, Germany’s health and old-age care system is being propped up by migrant workers, according to experts, with 690,000 people born in another country providing much needed care to elderly Germans in their own homes.

It’s not a perfect solution, however, as migrant carers can be vulnerable from families who expect them to to be available around the clock in the home for potential emergencies. Plus, workers in family households often have no medical or care-specific qualification. Read more from Jonathan Packroff in Euractiv. 

Working culture

Casualty is getting political. The 37-year old hospital drama saw nurse Robyn Miller (played by Amanda Henderson) recently killed off. The cause of death might as well have read ‘13 years of NHS budget cuts’, writes The Big Issue’s own Adrian Lobb. Following a car crash, Miller’s life hung in the balance. A crucial delay to her treatment because of an ambulance shortage was as damning as it was dramatic.

With some of our most popular TV dramas landing powerful blows on the government, surely, change must be in the air.

In the diary

Tuesday April 11. Junior doctors start four-day strike starting at 7am, ending at 7am on April 15.

Wednesday April 19. Resolution Foundation event, Good work: How to renew the UK’s economic strategy and put better jobs at its heart.

Wednesday 26 April. Teachers in five education unions across Northern Ireland go on strike.

Thursday April 27. Teachers strike with the National Education Unions.

The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) Annual Conference: Shaping a fairer world of work.

Friday April 28. All out strike from over 130,000 civil servants and public servants with the PCS Union. 

It’s also International Workers Memorial Day (IWMD) to commemorate the people who have died while working, with a one minute silence held at 12.00. The TUC uses this day to draw attention to the need for proper health and safety at work. 

Tuesday May 2. Teachers strike with the National Education Union.

Animals with jobs 

In case you missed it, this devout cat has been going viral online for interrupting an Imam as he recited a Ramadan prayer in Algeria. The cute feline even leans into the microphone, gives it a sniff, and leaves the professional to his job. What a great delegator. 

Does your cat / dog/ garden fox/ animal you saw on holiday work participate in the daily grind? Nominate them today by sending me a photo of them hard at work! evie.breese@bigissue.com

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