Thousands of doctors in England launched a five-day strike on Friday over pay and training opportunities, marking the 13th walkout by medics since March 2023.
The strike, which began at 0700 GMT, involves resident doctors, those below consultant level, who make up around half of hospital medical staff.
It was sharply criticised by the Labour government’s health minister, Wes Streeting, who accused the British Medical Association (BMA) of “choosing confrontation over care.”
“This strike isn’t about fairness any more. It’s about political posturing,” Streeting wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
“He added that the government cannot consider further pay increases after a 28.9 percent rise over the past three years, the highest across the public sector.
The BMA argues that doctors still need a 26 percent pay increase to restore earnings to their value two decades ago.
The union is also calling for more training posts, citing a severe shortage: in some cases, over 30,000 doctors compete for just 10,000 places, leaving many without permanent roles after years of training.
The strike comes amid a prolonged cost-of-living crisis in the UK, which has fuelled industrial action across multiple sectors.
Teachers, nurses, ambulance workers, lawyers, train staff, and border officials have all staged strikes over the past three and a half years.
