LONDON (Reuters) – British medical interns began a six-day strike on Wednesday to demand pay rises in the face of inflation, an unprecedented duration in the history of the NHS, the British public health system created 75 years old.
Represented by the BMA (British Medical Association) union, the “junior doctors” are demanding a 35% increase in their remuneration in order to compensate for losses in purchasing power over several years, while the government has so far not proposed an increase of 8 to 10%.
This new strike in the health sector in Great Britain, which adds to actions carried out last year by interns but also nurses and doctors, should weigh on a National Health Service already under pressure.
More than 7.7 million UK patients are on waiting lists for treatment. Last year the NHS was forced to cancel 1.2 million appointments.
“This January could be one of the most difficult starts to the year the NHS has ever faced,” NHS medical director Stephen Powis said in a statement.
“This action will not only have a huge impact on planned care, but comes on top of a range of seasonal pressures such as covid, flu and staff sick leave,” he said.
Rishi Sunak’s government has said it is ready to discuss. “But obviously the first thing to do is to end the strike,” a spokesperson for the Prime Minister said on Tuesday.
(Muvija M and Alistair Smout; Jean-Stéphane Brosse for the French version, edited by Kate Entringer)
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