'Exactly what a union should be doing': doctors in Manchester defend strike action

FULL story: http://archive.today/LUilI

BMA members on Manchester Royal Infirmary picket line had hoped Labour government would end pay dispute

Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent
Fri 25 Jul 2025 09.21 EDT


BMA members on the picket line at Manchester Royal Infirmary say they are asking the government ‘to restore our pay’. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Outside Manchester Royal Infirmary, car horns beep as striking medics wave orange placards demanding “Pay Restoration for Doctors.”

Most are decked out in matching British Medical Association-branded tangerine baseball caps and bucket hats. Some carry homemade cardboard signs: “Overworked, underpaid, undervalued” or “Wes: stop (S)Treating us like [poo drawing]”.

They have gone out on strike for five days from Friday after talks with the health secretary, Wes Streeting, broke down last week. Doctors say that in real terms their pay has decreased by 21% since 2008, and they are demanding an uplift in salaries for resident doctors.

Many graduate from medical school with student debt of £100,000 or more, they say, with the cost of ongoing training such as exams also placing a heavy financial burden on new doctors who, the BMA says, earn just £18.62 a hour.

Original pay link: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jul/25/resident-doctors-manchester-strike-action