Thousands of doctors in the U.K. on Friday launched a five-day strike over pay and training posts, the 13th walkout by medics since March 2023.
The strike from 0700 GMT by some resident doctors, those below consultant level who make up half the medical workforce of hospitals, was condemned by the Labor government's health minister.
Wes Streeting said the leadership of the doctors' union, the British Medical Association (BMA), was "choosing confrontation over care."
"This strike isn't about fairness anymore. It's about political posturing," he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.
"We cannot and will not move on pay, especially not after a 28.9% pay rise over the last three years and the highest pay award across the entire public sector in the last two," he added.
The BMA argues that doctors still need a 26% pay hike to restore their earnings to the real value they had two decades ago.
The union is also demanding an increase in training posts.
Doctors have complained that in some cases more than 30,000 doctors are applying for only 10,000 training places that will allow them to progress in their careers towards becoming a consultant.
The situation is leaving many doctors without a permanent job after years of training.
The U.K. remains in the grip of a prolonged cost of living crisis that has sparked strikes across the economy.
Groups including teachers, nurses, ambulance workers, lawyers, train workers and border staff have all walked out over the past three-and-a-half years.
