England’s resident doctors plan pre-Christmas strikes over pay

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LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) – Resident doctors in England will stage a five-day strike starting on December 17, timed just before Christmas, citing the government’s failure to make a credible offer on jobs and pay, a union representing them said on Monday.

The British Medical Association, which has been locked in a months-long dispute with the government on behalf of resident doctors, says the government’s 5.4% pay offer does not address years of salary erosion when adjusting for inflation, while the government says the deal is fair and affordable.

In response to the latest strike notice, Health minister Wes Streeting criticised the BMA for choosing to walk out “when it will cause maximum disruption” and “untold anxiety”.

“These strikes are in no one’s interest and there is no moral justification for them,” he said in a statement released by his department, adding that the government was open to talks.

Resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, carried out five days of strike actions last month and another five-day walkout in July after the government said it could not meet their demands for an improved pay deal this year.

Last year the then newly elected Labour government quickly reached a settlement with the doctors for a 22% pay rise as part of its pledge to fix the National Health Service and in hopes of drawing a line under a long-running dispute.

The BMA has been seeking a 29% rise this year to restore pay to what it said was 2008 levels in real terms. Streeting wrote to the union last month stressing the “enormous financial pressures facing the country mean I am not able to go further on pay”.

(Reporting by Muvija M; Writing by Catarina DemonyEditing by Frances Kerry)