UK Junior Doctors Begin Five-Day Strike Despite Prime Minister’s Warning

By Ohworisi Elohor.

Thousands of junior doctors in the United Kingdom commenced a five-day strike on Friday, following the breakdown of negotiations with the Labour government over pay increases.

The strike action, led by resident doctors—those below the level of consultant—was staged outside major hospitals across the country. It came after the last-minute talks on Thursday failed to produce an agreement. The doctors had previously accepted a pay offer totaling 22.3 percent over two years in September, shortly after Labour assumed office under Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Despite the offer, junior doctors stated they felt compelled to walk out again in protest over what they described as long-standing “pay erosion” dating back to 2008. According to them, their earnings had declined by more than 21 percent in real terms over the past two decades.

In a public plea published on Friday, Prime Minister Starmer urged doctors to reconsider, warning that the strike would cause significant harm to patients and place further strain on the already overwhelmed National Health Service (NHS). He cautioned that continuing with the industrial action would result in widespread consequences, stating that “lives will be blighted by this decision.”

The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents the doctors, stood by the strike, arguing that the pay cut in real terms could no longer be ignored. In a joint statement, Melissa Ryan and Ross Nieuwoudt, co-chairs of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, questioned why their pay should be allowed to deteriorate when their workload had not decreased.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting also appealed for the strike to be called off. In a letter, he insisted the government could not increase its offer further this year, citing financial constraints.

The strike followed a year of industrial unrest across the public sector, including widespread protests by teachers, rail workers, and other civil servants amid the cost-of-living crisis. Previous walkouts by doctors had led to thousands of cancelled appointments and delayed treatments, compounding the challenges facing the NHS.

Labour had previously managed to reach settlements with other sectors, including a 15 percent three-year deal with train drivers, but the dispute with junior doctors remained unresolved.