UK – A 5-day England doctors strike begun on Wednesday Dec. 17, over pay and working conditions dispute, amidst the country’s National Health Service (NHS) warning of a surge in super flu virus cases.

In a latest action over pay, thousands of resident doctors begin another walkout following British Medical Association (BMA) calls “the continuing failure of the government to make a credible offer on jobs or pay.”

It came after doctors rejected a recently revised offer put forward by the government, the BMA said in a statement on Monday.

The Department of Health offered measures included increasing the number of new specialty training posts from 1,000 to 4,000 over the next three years, as well as a pledge to bring forward emergency legislation in the new year to prioritize UK medical graduates for these posts.

A total of 83% of doctors, members of the BMA, rejected the offer and voted to continue planned strike action.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said earlier that a 26% pay rise demand over the next few years on top of last year’s 28.9% pay rise is “totally unrealistic demand.”

Last week, the NHS warned that hospitals in England are facing “worst case scenario” in December amid “super flu” surge, saying an average of 2,660 patients per day were in a hospital bed with flu in the first week of December, the highest ever for this time of year and 55% up on the week before.