UK
Resident doctors threaten further strikes as government rules out additional pay hikes
Resident doctors are not ruling out further strike action as their current walkout comes to an end, with some demands still unmet.
The latest strike began on Friday amid an ongoing row over pay and is expected to last until 7am on Wednesday.
Hospital leaders have urged the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government to end the strikes, which caused widespread disruptions throughout the NHS in England.
The BMA’s Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) says it is ready for further talks with the government but has yet to be contacted by Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
Dozens of resident doctors, previously called junior doctors, took part in a picket line on Tuesday at King George Hospital in Ilford, a facility serving the constituents of the health secretary.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting visits the NHS National Operations Centre in London to see the response to the industrial action. Pic: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire
“Unfortunately, we haven’t heard from him yet. That doesn’t mean that he’s not going to call us tomorrow – our door is always open,” said Dr Melissa Ryan, who co-chairs the committee alongside Dr Ross Nieuwoudt.
Dr Nieuwoudt said: “There does not need to be a single other day of industrial action at all.
“All Wes Streeting needs to do is come to us now and talk to us now, because that’s what doctors want and that’s what patients need.”
The union has also launched a related dispute with the government over limited training spots, as this year, over 30,000 resident doctors competed for only 10,000 specialty places.
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A recent poll of 4,400 doctors found that 52% finishing their second training year lack confirmed employment for August.
Dr Layla McCay, director of policy at NHS Confederation, said: “Resident doctors have recently had a very substantial increase in their pay and the government has been pretty clear that at the moment, there isn’t more money to be negotiated.”
Dr McCay said the government “is keen” to discuss non-pay issues, such as workforce conditions.
NHS resident doctors outside St Thomas’ Hospital. Pic: PA.
“I think that the hope of all healthcare leaders is that the BMA will get around the table with the government and figure out a solution to this, because what absolutely nobody wants to see is any further cases of industrial action after this one.”
Streeting has said the union can’t “hold the country to ransom” following a 28.9% pay increase over the past three years, the highest in the public sector.
The BMA has said pay for resident doctors has declined by a fifth since 2008, once inflation is taken into account, despite this uplift.
Meanwhile, health workers represented by the GMB and Unite unions have also turned down a government offer, raising the likelihood of additional industrial action within the NHS.
Nurses are also expected to turn down the pay deal later this week.
The Royal College of Nursing, which represents hundreds of thousands of nurses across the NHS in England, is balloting its members on the 3.6% pay award offered for 2025/26 in England.
A recent YouGov poll found that public opinion in Britain is divided over nurses striking for better pay. Among 4,300 adults surveyed, 19% “strongly support” nurse strikes, while 28% offer some support. In contrast, 23% “strongly oppose” the strikes, and 20% “somewhat oppose” them.