BMA announces strike ballot on pay for resident doctors
Government fails to commit to pay restoration forcing doctors leaders to take further industrial action
Resident doctors in England are once again set to be balloted on taking strike action, following the failure of last-minute talks on pay restoration.
Thousands of doctors will be asked to vote on whether to return to the picket lines, after health secretary Wes Streeting failed to make a commitment on restoring pay levels during a meeting today with BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs Melissa Ryan and Ross Nieuwoudt.
The ballot, which will open on 27 May and run until 7 July, comes after the RDC announced on 9 April it was re-entering its dispute on pay with the Government, following the delays in the publication of The Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration recommendations.
Under the terms of an agreement on resolving pay disputes reached last year between ministers and the BMA, the Government commitment to DDRB recommendations being published by the start of the financial year, which began 6 April 2025.
Following their meeting with Mr Streeting, Dr Ryan and Dr Nieuwoudt expressed their deep disappointment at the outcome of talks adding that resident doctors’ wishes would not be ignored.
They added that, while there was still time for the Government to act ‘responsibly’ and meet its commitments to restoring pay, doctors were ‘more than prepared’ to take action if necessary.
They said: ‘Today we met with Wes Streeting and made clear that all he would need to do to avoid the need for a ballot was pledge to negotiate a fair deal that moved us toward pay restoration. Unfortunately, he could not make this commitment.
‘Resident doctors are not going to be ignored. We are going to stand up for our value to the NHS and to patients, and we are going to fight to stay on the path set out for us by last year’s deal: restoration of our pay to the level of 2008.’
A ‘yes’ vote on the upcoming ballot would grant resident doctors in England a mandate for industrial action from July this year to January 2026.
Ready for action
Dr Ryan and Dr Nieuwoudt added that, while there was still time for the Government to act ‘responsibly’ and meet its commitments to restoring pay, doctors were ‘more than prepared’ to take action if necessary.
They said: ‘No doctor today is worth less than they were 17 years ago, and that is precisely what doctors voting “yes” to industrial action will be telling the Government. We don’t want to be in the situation where we have to fight over and over again for our worth – we would rather get on with our careers and our work caring for our patients.
‘But our successful action over previous years shows clearly that if that is what we must do, then doctors are more than prepared to do it. The Government does not have to go through what its predecessor did. It can instead act responsibly and tell us that it will be putting us back on the path to full pay restoration. If they can commit to that, we never need to even see a picket line form.’
Further details on the forthcoming ballot will be sent to resident doctors in England in due course.
