Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on July 22, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleJunior doctors in England will strike for five days after rejecting a 5.4% pay rise, seeking a 29% increase to restore 2008 earnings levels.
LONDON (Reuters) -A planned five-day junior doctors' strike in England will go ahead this week, their trade union announced on Tuesday, saying health minister Wes Streeting had not gone far enough in negotiations over pay and conditions.
Junior doctors, also known as resident doctors, had voted to strike following the government's award of a 5.4% pay rise. The union argues this falls far short of the 29% needed to restore their earnings to 2008 levels.
The strikes will begin at 0600 GMT on Friday.
Talks with Streeting and government officials over the last few days to reach a compromise have not seen a breakthrough, the British Medical Association (BMA) said in a statement.
“What we have seen so far is a series of 'no's – no to movement on pay, no to student loan forgiveness, no to any credible move forwards," BMA co-chairs Melissa Ryan and Ross Nieuwoudt said in a statement.
"What we need to see are some ways forward, some kind of positive approach to get us out of this dispute."
Streeting said the strikes would disrupt patient care and put additional pressure on the state-run National Health Service.
"The BMA would have lost nothing by taking up the offer to postpone strike action to negotiate a package that would improve the working lives of resident doctors," Streeting said in an emailed statement.
The BMA co-chairs said their door remained open, but added "we don’t accept we can’t talk about pay."
(Reporting by Catarina Demony and Sam Tabahriti, writing by Muvija M, editing by William James)
The junior doctors are striking due to dissatisfaction with a 5.4% pay rise awarded by the government, which they argue is insufficient compared to the 29% needed to restore their earnings.
The strikes are set to begin at 0600 GMT on Friday.
Health Minister Wes Streeting stated that the strikes would disrupt patient care and criticized the BMA for not accepting an offer to postpone strike action for further negotiations.
The BMA co-chairs indicated that their door remains open for discussions but emphasized that they do not accept that pay cannot be a topic of conversation.
Recent talks have not resulted in a breakthrough, with the BMA stating that they received no movement on key issues such as pay and student loan forgiveness.
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