Doctors in England to strike over pay dispute

Differences over pay have been cited as the reason for a five-day strike by doctors in the National Health Service, or NHS, in England, which will begin on Friday, the British Medical Association, or BMA, has confirmed.

The announcement comes despite five days of talks between the government and doctors, which Health Minister Wes Streeting told the BMA would continue only if the planned strike was called off.

The BMA said what the minister was willing to discuss was insufficient, and major issues still remained over its principal complaint, which is pay, so the action would go ahead. Streeting called this decision "reckless and needless".