Doctors announce strike inside weeks as pay conflict with Government continues

Resident doctors will strike in June as their dispute with the Government over pay continues, the BMA said

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Resident doctors will strike from June 15 to June 19 as part of their long-running dispute with the Government over pay, the BMA said.

The union announced the strike dates – and said there could be more to come in July – saying the new Health Secretary James Murray had not improved the Government’s offer.

Resident doctor members of the British Medication Association (BMA) have a mandate for industrial action until August, and last went on strike in April.

The last strike – which lasted for six days over the Easter holiday – was the 15th by resident doctors in England since 2023. The cumulative cost of the walkouts is estimated to have topped £3 billion.

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Prior to the April strike, former Health Secretary Wes Streeting had offered a 4.9% increase in average basic pay from 2026 to 2027, which he claimed would have left resident doctors 35.2% better off than four years ago.

His proposal had also included an offer of 1,000 extra training places, although that was taken off the table due to increasing strike costs to the NHS.

Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the resident doctors committee, said today: “We had hoped that a change in leadership at the Department of Health and Social Care would lead to a change in approach. Sadly, we have run up against the same unwillingness to move we encountered under Mr Streeting.

“We were prepared to give Mr Murray time to settle into his role before completing the work his predecessor left unfinished – to both make a fair and meaningful pay offer and make concrete commitments to end the jobs bottleneck throttling the careers of our colleagues. He had a genuine opportunity to break this logjam with fresh energy and ambition.

“He has not taken it. Instead, we are hearing the same tired line: vagueness on new jobs and no further money on the table. We cannot be asked to negotiate in good faith for weeks, only to be told there is nothing left to negotiate about on pay and no further details at this stage on jobs.”

James Murray issues statement as doctors announce strike

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care James Murray said: “I met the BMA resident doctors committee officers today in the hope of starting a productive relationship and making progress on a deal to improve their members’ pay, career prospects and working lives.

“I’m disappointed that the BMA have refused to consider further discussions about how to strengthen the deal on the table and have instead rushed once again to unnecessary and unreasonable strike action

“I was clear with the BMA that after a 33.4% pay rise for resident doctors over the last four years – the highest anywhere across the public sector – the BMA’s demands for further substantial pay increases this year are unrealistic, unaffordable, and unsustainable.

“These are simply not grounds for yet more strike action, which patients do not support, puts further pressure on other staff, and costs the NHS hundreds of millions of pounds.

“There are record numbers of doctors working in our NHS this year. Waiting lists are down and patient satisfaction is up. I urge the BMA to step back from more damaging strikes and work in partnership with the Government for the benefit of their members and the NHS.”