Striking junior doctors branded ‘hypocrites’ over picket line hats made in China

The BMA-branded orange hats have become a fixture on junior doctors' picket lines - HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY

Striking junior doctors have been called “hypocrites” for wearing merchandise manufactured in China.

The doctors will take to the picket line for the 11th time in 15 months on Thursday morning as they start a five-day strike. Many will be kitted out in bright orange hats and clothes supplied by British Medical Association (BMA), the doctors’ union.

But it can be revealed that the tangerine hats often seen on picket lines, emblazoned with the BMA logo, have been shipped in from China.

Critics have pointed to China’s “terrible working conditions” and the inability of fatory labourers to establish trade unions independent of government oversight.

The Chinese-made hats worn by the junior doctors during the strike

The Chinese-made hats worn by the junior doctors during the strike

Last year, an investigation by the US government found there was an “extremely high risk” that items on the Temu retail app, which sells clothes and gifts globally, could have been made with forced labour.

There is no suggestion that this applies to the BMA materials.

In 2022, local governments in cities and provinces across China were offering reprieves for “minor” breaches of workers’ rights, including forcing employees to work dangerously long hours, in a bid to boost the economy post-pandemic.

Junior doctors are able to order free campaign materials, delivered within five days, with the BMA telling striking medics on X, formerly Twitter: “Don’t forget your bucket hats”.

Paul Bristow, standing to be re-elected as Conservative MP for Peterborough, said the BMA’s decision to buy its members materials made in China, and also being sold online via platforms such as eBay, was “hypocritical”.

“The BMA militants show themselves to be hypocritical by dishing out merch made in China with their terrible working conditions,” he said. “They need to stop their posturing and strikes and get their members back to work.”

Sean Phillips, head of health and social care at Policy Exchange, a think tank, said: “It is becoming difficult to sympathise with the cause of BMA members masquerading in cut-price merchandise while they talk of ‘cut-price doctors’.”

Junior doctors start a five-day strike on Thursday morning - Jonathan Brady/PA

A BMA spokesman said: “The BMA has ethical procurement policies in place, which we adhere to when purchasing goods, and we believe that engaging with ethical suppliers in other countries is beneficial to them.

“Before putting in the order for the beanie hats, due diligence was done to make sure they were produced in factories where employment conditions and workers’ rights, as well as their supply chains and services they procure, are maintained in line with internationally recognised conventions and local laws as a minimum.”

Meeting marred by controversy

It comes after the doctors’ union annual meeting was marred by controversy, amid accusations of anti-Semitism and sexism. Jewish doctors had raised concerns before the event had started, with various union factions campaigning for action against Israel.

Prof David Katz, the chairman of the Jewish Medical Association, said Jewish doctors attending “were deeply concerned that the meeting environment could become itself a vehicle for discrimination and Jew-hatred”.

A female doctor was heckled on stage with cries of “shame” as she revealed she was “a practising Jew”.

In the closing remarks of the BMA conference, Dr Latifa Patel, the chairman, spoke out about how she and Dr Emma Runswick, her deputy, had faced sexism.

“I have one request – look around you,” she said. “If you want to be a representative body, you need to support the women around you. We have had a lot of people talk about equality impact assessments. We can do as many as we like, but the actions are in this room.”

The BMA said the union was “incredibly proud of Dr Latifa Patel and her work as a senior member of the association” and “fully supports her in raising this very important issue. Poor behaviours – including discrimination – will not be tolerated”. The union said it “stands firmly against all forms of discrimination and prejudice”.

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