About five-thousand senior doctors are striking until midnight in a bid to get more of them on the roster. 

This comes after eight months of failed negotiations with Health New Zealand. 

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says it’s not going to fill workforce gaps without major improvements to pay and conditions. 

President Katie Ben told Ryan Bridge salaries aren't competitive enough for doctors to want to stay in the country. 

She says more doctors need to be recruited into New Zealand and ones that train here need to be kept. 

Ben says they often work 10 hour days and then stay on call for 14 hours overnight. 

She says they're working non-stop through the day as there's not enough staff for any breaks. 

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