Doctors in England begin six-day strike after rejecting government’s pay and workforce deal

LONDON – Resident doctors in England on April 7 started a six-day walkout after rejecting an offer the government said would not get better, with the British Medical Association (BMA) saying it fell short of reversing years of pay erosion and staffing pressures.

The strike action during the Easter holiday period is due to run until the morning of April 13 after a 48-hour ultimatum from Prime Minister Keir Starmer passed without agreement.

The government has now withdrawn a pledge to fund 1,000 additional speciality training posts that it said had been contingent on the deal being accepted.

Health minister Wes Streeting said the government was not prepared to spend money needed for patient services on a settlement it viewed as unaffordable, estimating that the strike would cost the health service about £50 million (S$85 million) a day, or £300 million over the six-day walkout.

Speaking on Times Radio on April 7, Mr Streeting said resident doctors had secured the largest pay uplift of any public sector group under the Labour government, but had rejected the offer without putting forward a counter proposal.

Mr Streeting had said that the offer “doesn’t get better than this” when urging the union to reconsider in March.

The BMA represents about 55,000 of the so-called resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – who make up nearly half of the medical workforce.

BMA denounces long-term pay erosion

Since early 2023, the BMA has held more than a dozen rounds of industrial action over pay.

The union says the government’s offer on pay and workforce does not go far enough to address longstanding concerns, including historical below-inflation pay increases.

The pay offer includes a 3.5 per cent increase in 2026, which the government said would represent an above-inflation rise, and take total pay increases over three years to around 35 per cent, plus reimbursements of mandatory exam fees, which can cost doctors thousands of pounds.

Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors’ committee, said the union was concerned that the level of investment in the deal had been reduced, the proposed reforms were spread over several years, and uncertainties remained over the implementation of new training posts.

Dr Fletcher said the government’s threat to withdraw parts of the deal had also undermined confidence.

“No one wants to strike. But without a credible offer on the table, doctors are left with no alternative,” the BMA said in a post on X on April 7. REUTERS