Crunching the data Are trainee medics in England still badly paid?

Resident doctors in England have voted to strike for five days from 25 July, reigniting one of the NHS's most bitter industrial disputes.

- Michael Goodier

At the heart of the row is pay: the British Medical Association (BMA) says that resident (formerly junior) doctors have seen their real earnings fall by more than a quarter since 2008. The government says the union's demands are unaffordable, after generous rises in recent years.

So are strikes "unnecessary and unreasonable", in the words of the health secretary, Wes Streeting? Or a necessary step on the path to restore doctor's pay?

After the global financial crisis of 2007-08, pay stagnated across the board in Britain. But resident doctors have had it worse than most.

The average private sector worker now earns 7.5% more than they did in August 2010, when taking into account inflation (including housing costs and council tax rises). Resident doctors' pay was still down 10.2% as of March this year (see chart below).

An average pay rise of 5.4% was awarded for this year, which will start appearing in wage slips next month. But even then, pay will still be below 2010 levels.