Junior doctors could go on strike for three days every month until next spring if they do not get a pay rise

JUNIOR doctors could go on strike for three days every month until next spring if they do not get a pay rise, union chiefs warn.

The British Medical Association says a ballot to extend its strikes mandate by six months will start next week.

Junior doctors’ current 72-hour walkout is due to end on Saturday.

They also said they would consider “coordinated action” with consultants.

Dr Vivek Trivedi said: “We are prepared to take three days of action every month for the rest of our mandate if we need to.”

The BMA said the Government tried to impose a five per cent pay increase on it with “brute force”.

It previously said it will not settle for anything less than a 35 per cent rise, but now accepts it will be lower.

Dr Robert Laurenson, of the BMA, yesterday said: “It needs to be a serious package that restores pay in its entirety going back to 2008.

“So that percentage in a single year could be single digit or very low double-digit.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay insisted it was in his interests to resolve the pay dispute, but said there “needs to be movement on both sides”.

NHS England boss Amanda Pritchard said the strikes pose a “serious risk to patient safety”.

Meanwhile, striking doctors are being targeted on Twitter by South Australia state urging them to emigrate as part of a recruitment drive to “discover work-life balance at its best”.