Thousands of junior doctors in England have begun a six-day strike, set to be the longest in the 75-year history of the National Health Service (NHS).

The labor action started at 7:00 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Wednesday and is due to end at the same time on January 9.

Why are the doctors striking?

The strike comes amid a long-running pay dispute with the UK government and was announced by the British Medical Association (BMA) in December after the last breakdown of talks.

Negotiations collapsed after a pay rise offer of 8-10% was deemed insufficient by the BMA, which is seeking a 35% increase to offset inflation.

The junior doctors went on a three-day strike over the same issue the week before Christmas.

According to the BMA, the doctors they represent are feeling "disenchanted" and debating if they want to remain in the health care sector.

"Add to this years of pay erosion, and it's no wonder that morale on the frontline has never been lower," the union said in a statement.

Junior doctors have gone on strike at least seven times since March. 

How are health services going to be impacted?

According to the state-funded NHS, there is going to be "a significant impact on almost all routine care" as a result of the walkout.

Junior doctors, who are in the first years of their careers and form the backbone of hospital and clinic care, account for almost half of the NHS's medical force.

The strike comes at a time when health care services are particularly busy, facing increased pressure from winter respiratory illnesses.

"This January could be one of the most difficult starts to the year the NHS has ever faced," NHS National Medical Director Stephen Powis said in a statement.

"The action will not only have an enormous impact on planned care, but comes on top of a host of seasonal pressures such as covid, flu, and staff absences due to sickness."

In 2023, the NHS had to cancel 1.2 million appointmentsdue to strikes.

Currently, over 7.7 million patients are awaiting procedures and appointments.

What is the government saying?

The UK government oversaw new pay deals with nurses and senior doctors in recent months but it opposes further pay increases, citing inflation concerns.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office called for an end to the strikes, emphasizing fairness in negotiations.

"We have sought to come to a fair resolution — fair for the taxpayer, fair for hardworking doctors and health workers," a spokesperson for Sunak told reporters.

"We have achieved that in the majority of cases ... we are willing to have further discussions. But obviously the first thing to do is to stop striking."

ss/nm (Reuters, AFP)