The petition, which warns of the practical implications for young dentists qualifying with increasing debts and calls for the proposal to be abandoned, has already attracted more than 5,000 signatures.
The petition has been founded by the British Dental Association (BDA) Students committee chair Paul Blaylock, as part of a campaign that is also encouraging dental students to contact their member of parliament to make their concerns known.
Paul said: ‘On behalf of the BDA Students committee I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has already signed the petition calling for this proposed cut to be abandoned.
‘The thousands of students the committee represents already face an increasingly challenging future, with escalating debts and a foreboding professional environment awaiting them upon graduation.
‘Reducing the salary paid to DFTs (Dental Foundation Trainees) will only make the situation more difficult.
‘By attacking the youngest, newest and most vulnerable members of the profession, this proposal will, I’m sure, be viewed not just as an attack on those it will directly affect, but also on the wider, already under-pressure dental community.
‘It is important that we send a very clear signal that we will not stand for this cut.
‘I encourage everyone in the profession to add their names to the petition.’
The campaign has also won strong support on Twitter, where the BDA is encouraging tweets using the hashtag #DFTPay, and on the BDA’s Facebook page.
