Resident doctors vote 'yes' to extend strike action mandate
Resident doctors vote 'yes' to extend strike action mandate
Existing commitment to industrial action extended to August
Resident doctors in England have voted overwhelmingly to extend their mandate for strike action, following the results of a ballot announced today.
Doctors have renewed their ability to resort to industrial action as part of the BMA’s continuing dispute with the Government on pay restoration and job reform.
The vote, which saw 93 per cent of resident doctors voting yes on a turnout of 53 per cent, means they have now extended their mandate until August 2026.
The yes vote is the latest outcome in a long-running dispute aimed at reversing long-term erosion of resident doctor pay, as well as the more recent crisis in training place shortages that has left many resident doctors facing unemployment.
The vote to extend the strike mandate comes in the wake of last month’s announcement by the Government that it plans to bring emergency legislation before Parliament designed to prioritise access to foundation and specialty training places for UK medical graduates.
No time to waste
UK BMA resident doctors committee chair Jack Fletcher said the ballot once again demonstrated the unity and resolve of resident doctors in their determination for the Government to recognise and resolve the twin crisis of jobs and pay.
Urging the Government to reflect upon this latest renewed mandate, Dr Fletcher added that ministers could not afford to ‘wait out’ the issues threatening the medical profession and encouraged those in power to continue to move forward in finding appropriate solutions.
He said: ‘This is not a problem the Government can wait out.
‘Ministers cannot be shocked that 93 per cent of doctors have voted to strike after being recommended a pay cut this year by the same health secretary who promised a journey to fair pay.
‘And without thousands more training posts, the bottlenecks in medical training are going to continue to rob brilliant young doctors of their careers. Doctors have today clearly said that is not acceptable.’
Better relations
He added: ‘None of this needs to mean more strikes. In recent weeks the Government has shown an improved approach in tone compared with the name-calling we saw late last year.
‘A deal is there to be done: a new jobs package and an offer raising pay fairly over several years can be worked out through good will on both sides, in the interests of patients, staff and the whole NHS.
‘Now that the mandate for strike action is confirmed for six months, the Government has nowhere to run and no means of running out the clock. With no choice but to get a deal, we hope that means a responsible approach from the health secretary and a timely settlement with no further need for strikes.’
The campaign for pay restoration for resident doctors in England began in 2023 and resulted in a then unprecedented 44 days of strike action, before the UK RDC and newly formed Labour government reached a deal on pay in September 2024.
UK RDC re-entered formal dispute last April following the Government’s failure to honour an agreement in the 2024 deal requiring the DDRB (Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration) to submit its pay recommendations by the start of the 2025/26 financial year.
Resident doctors most recent strike action occurred between 17 and 22 December last year, when doctors across England staged a full five-day walk-out.
