British junior doctors launched longest strike in UK’s history

The BBC Broadcasting Corporation reported that thousands of junior doctors in England have started a six-day walkout, which will be the longest one in the history of the National Health Service, TASS reports

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Stephen Powis, the NHS National Medical Director, warned that the strike of junior doctors is taking place at a time of an increase in the number of respiratory diseases in the country, including COVID and flu. According to him, there is a high probability that thousands of appointments will be cancelled or rescheduled.

It is noted that junior doctors in England demand to raise their salaries by 35 percent. In July 2023, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, amid mass strikes in the country, announced that salaries of public sector employees would be increased – in particular, by 9 percent for junior doctors. He also stressed that this would mean ‘a significant increase’ for doctors and recommended accepting the conditions. The Prime Minister assured that the Cabinet of Ministers did not intend to conduct new negotiations on salaries.