Junior doctors in England begin a six-day walkout, their 15th strike in three years, as a bitter pay dispute with the government deepens
LONDON: Junior doctors in England have launched their 15th strike in just over three years.
The six-day walkout marks a significant escalation in a long-running and bitter dispute over pay and working conditions.
The British Medical Association (BMA), representing the doctors, is demanding full pay restoration to 2008 levels. This latest action follows a previous settlement that secured a 28.9% pay increase over three years.
Health Minister Wes Streeting condemned the union’s decision to reject the government’s latest offer of 4.9%. He told BBC television the doctors had been the “standout winners of the entire public sector workforce when it comes to pay rises”.
The government and the resident doctors remain deadlocked over demands for a further significant pay hike. The medics argue this is needed to compensate for real-terms earnings lost to inflation.
Streeting accused the union of rushing to strike action despite the earlier “whopping” pay rise. He added the stoppage would cost the state-funded National Health Service £300 million.
The UK government has repeatedly stated that meeting the union’s demands is impossible in the current economic climate. Streeting has, however, already agreed to one BMA demand.
He confirmed that UK-trained medics will get priority for training posts over candidates from overseas.
