Nearly Half Of UK Doctors Commence Strike

Tens of thousands of junior doctors in Britain began a four-day strike on Tuesday, April 11th.

The doctors, who make up nearly half of the country’s medical workforce, are demanding pay raises that are better aligned with the inflation rates, Reuters reports.

The strike will most likely cause a disruption to the state-funded National Health Service (NHS). This strike comes a month after the doctors staged a three-day walkout over the same issue.

The NHS England National Medical Director, Stephen Powis, said the NHS is worried about the impact of the strike on patients across the country, adding that hospitals have been asked to reschedule procedures as quickly as possible.

“This latest round of strikes will see unparalleled levels of disruption, and we are very concerned about the potential severity of impact on patients and services across the country.

“We’ve also asked (hospitals) to reschedule procedures and outpatients as quickly as possible but this will take weeks to recover from,” he said.

Prior to this, other NHS staff have taken industrial actions to demand compensation that better reflects the annual inflation rate in the country including, nurses and paramedics.

The British Medical Association (BMA), the union representing doctors, wants a 35% pay rise, arguing that members have suffered 26% real terms cut in pay over 15 years.