UK doctors begin strike over low pay

Thousands of doctors in England launched a five-day strike on Friday over pay and training posts, marking the 13th walkout by medics since March 2023.

The strike, which began at 0700 GMT, involves some resident doctors—those below consultant level who make up about half of the medical workforce in hospitals.

The action was condemned by the Labour government’s health minister, Wes Streeting. He said the leadership of the doctors’ union, the British Medical Association, was “choosing confrontation over care.”

“This strike isn’t about fairness anymore. It’s about political posturing,” he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

We cannot and will not move on pay, especially not after a 28.9 per cent pay rise over the last three years and the highest pay award across the entire public sector in the last two,” Streeting added.

The BMA argues that doctors still need a 26 per cent pay increase to restore their earnings to the real value they had two decades ago.

The union is also demanding an increase in training posts. Doctors have complained that in some cases, more than 30,000 doctors are applying for only 10,000 training places, which are required to progress in their careers toward becoming consultants.

The shortage of training positions is leaving many doctors without permanent jobs after years of training.

The UK continues to face a prolonged cost-of-living crisis, which has sparked strikes across the economy. Groups including teachers, nurses, ambulance workers, lawyers, train workers, and border staff have all staged walkouts over the past three-and-a-half years.

AFP