Do people in Birmingham support the junior doctors strike?

It's their tenth walk out since March last year - junior doctors up and down the country have been on strike since Wednesday, January 3 in their dispute to achieve full pay restoration. I'm here today in Birmingham to find out whether people here support the NHS strike action.

Emma says: “Do I support their junior doctor's strike? I think I do. I don't think there's really a choice. I think doctors are so undervalued in this country. You sort of get what you pay for when it comes to medical service. And I just feel like compared to other professions, doctors just aren't paid enough.”

James says: “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I support the strikes? Doctors do a real lot for this country really. And, you know, obviously they deserve to be paid a bit more money than they're already on. So, yeah, definitely, definitely deserve to be paid more money. So, strikes, yeah.”

Simon says: “Not massively, no. I think they are unrealistic in their expectations. And I hear what they're saying about having effectively not having had a pay rise or a pay decrease since 2008, but everything in the private sector has as well. My wages have gone down in real terms by more than 35%. How am I supposed to pay for it out of increased taxes so they can have a pay rise?”

Raymond says: “I do support them to an extent. But I think in the past, those jobs used to be a vocation more so than a job. And it just seems people are suffering.”

Josh says: “Having previously worked in the NHS, I do actually support the junior doctors' strikes. I feel like what they're going through at the moment, especially post-COVID and even before COVID, they were very highly overworked, underpaid.

"I've seen the stresses that doctors have gone through working in both theatres and accident and emergency units. And I can see that they're struggling and they don't have enough physical hours in the day to get what they're doing. And being paid pennies for it, I think isn't quite the injustice for what they're actually doing and saving people's lives.”

Udie says: “I think, look, the reality is the junior doctors are a vital part of the NHS. I think the NHS is probably, if not the best organisation which provides healthcare for all the sick and the people who actually need the service itself.

"In terms of the strike, I get the frustration. I think a lot of people are in the same place at the moment where inflation has actually bitten into real-time wages. But I think there needs to be a bit of context to that as well. Inflation has affected everyone across the country, across the world.

"So it's not a unique problem that the UK is facing. I think once the economy jump starts, I think perspective. I also understand it from the government's perspective. Ultimately, they are the custodians of the finances of the country. So there needs to be a balanced approach. So I think everybody needs to get around to a table and try and see what the best solution forward is for that.”