Resident doctors in England vote in favour of strike action over pay offer

The British Medical Association is calling for a pay increase of almost 30%, to reverse what it says is 15 years of poor pay, as ITV News Health Correspondent Rebecca Barry reports

Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, in England have voted to go on strike over what they describe as a pay offer that makes "no meaningful progress" towards fair and attractive remuneration.

The decision to take industrial action was passed, with 90% of those who took part voting to proceed with strikes.

The walk-outs could last until January of next year, the British Medical Association (BMA) has announced.

It comes after the government's pay review body announced its recommendation of a 4% pay increase plus a one-time payment of £750 in 2025/6 for all resident doctors.

Although the BMA said this somewhat mitigates the effects of rising costs, it stressed that when you take into account inflation, this offer is rendered meaningless and makes too little progress towards their ultimate goal of full pay restoration.

The ballot opened on May 27 and closed on Monday.

All BMA resident doctor members employed by NHS organisations were eligible to vote.

Trade union ballots require a turnout of 50% of eligible voters to be considered to have support for industrial action.

The Department of Health and Social Care said that the Health Secretary Wes Streeting would be meeting with the BMA co-chairs on Monday afternoon.

It said turnout for the ballot was 55.3%, down from the previous few years, which meant that with 90.05% in favour, that means only 49.78% voted in favour of strike action.

A spokesperson for the department said: “While most resident doctors in the BMA did not vote to strike, it is disappointing that the BMA is continuing to threaten strike action after a pay rise of 28.9% over the last three years.

“The Secretary of State has been clear that he wants to work constructively with all unions, including the BMA, to improve working conditions for NHS staff and avoid strike action, which can be hugely disruptive for patients."

Speaking after announcing the ballot, resident doctor co-chairs, Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said: "Last week the government finally told us what it would do to restore the pay of doctors: almost nothing. Doctors have seen their pay decline by 23% in real terms since 2008.

"No doctor today is worth less than they were then, but at the rate the government is offering, it would be over a decade before we once again reached that level of pay.

"As ballots once again fall through doctors’ letterboxes, we are simply saying: the NHS does not have that time. Waiting lists are too high, too many people can’t see their GP, too many patients are being treated in corridors.

“Doctors need to be kept in the country and in their career, not in ten or 20 years’ time, but now.”

They continued: “We are urging doctors to vote yes to strike action. By voting yes, they will be telling the Government there is no alternative to fixing pay – this cannot wait for different fiscal circumstances and a healthier NHS. The answer is to fix it today.

“While doctors continue to return these ballots, however, our door is always open.

“Wes Streeting has made clear he knows the value of dialogue over division. Instead of repeating the mistakes of his predecessors, he can come to us with a solution now.

"Even if doctors vote for industrial action, with the right approach, not a single picket line needs ever form.”

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What impact could industrial action have?

The strikes are likely to impact thousands of hospital appointments, causing delays in treatment for many.

The NHS implements plans during industrial action to mitigate some of these effects, prioritising those most in need, but the effects of a walkout will undoubtedly hit many.

Despite ending long-running pay disputes when they came into power, this further strike action is likely to harm the government's goal of eliminating NHS backlogs and waiting lists, and will be seen as a damaging anniversary gift after one year in power.

Streeting previously awarded doctors a 22% pay increase spread over two years. At the time, doctors accepted this offer but warned they would want more in the coming years to keep their pay at competitive levels and above inflation.

Government data suggests ending these disputes saved around half a million appointments and operations from being cancelled and cut waiting lists at the time by 193,000.

What is full pay restoration?

Resident doctors in England have been demanding what they call "full pay restoration." They claim that the accumulated effects of below-inflation pay rises have combined since 2008 to erode their real-terms pay by around a fifth.

Resident doctors had previously said a 5% pay offer would be the minimum amount they would consider accepting. They have instead been offered a 4% rise and a one-off payment of £750 for the year 2025/6.

The BMA says that if the current deal, which amounts to a 5.4% increase, was offered in perpetuity, it would take 12 years to reach the real-terms level of their members' pay in 2008.

Commenting on the government's commitment to meeting this goal, the BMA wrote: "As part of last year’s deal, the government pledged to work with us to make medicine an attractive and rewarding career choice.

"Instead, the pay review body has recommended an insulting award that barely keeps up with inflation, making no meaningful progress towards full pay restoration.

"Without a deal that justly represents the work of resident doctors, we have no choice but to keep fighting."

ITV News has reached out to the Department of Health and Social Care for comment.

Speaking when the ballot was announced, however, Streeting said he understood the "anxiety and anger" resident doctors felt.

"Within weeks of coming into office, I was determined to resolve the pay dispute and give resident doctors a substantial pay rise," he said.

"That’s now being followed by another above-inflation average pay award of 5.4% (which includes the top up).

“The result is that resident doctors have seen their pay increase by 28.9% compared to three years ago. The average starting salary of a full-time Resident Doctor is now around £38,800 – up nearly £9,500 since 2022-23.

“I want to work in partnership with resident doctors to deliver the change that the NHS is crying out for."

He had urged resident doctors to vote no to further strike action.

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