Resident doctors vote in favour of more strike action

Resident doctors in England have voted in favour of more strike action in their long-running dispute with the government.

British Medical Association (BMA) members backed more walkouts, which means the union now has another six-month mandate to take strike action, although it hasn't yet announced any dates.

The doctors' dispute started in spring 2023 and has led to 14 separate strikes.

It comes after a month of talks between the union and the government following the last walkout just before Christmas.

Some 93% of BMA members voted in favour of continuing with the dispute, with the turnout at 53%.

BMA resident doctor leader Dr Jack Fletcher said: "Ministers cannot be shocked that 93% 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.

"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."

Resident doctors have received pay rises totalling nearly 30% in the past three years, but the BMA argues that still leaves their pay a fifth lower than it was in 2008, once inflation is taken into account.

The union has also pointed to a shortage of jobs at a crucial part of their medical training.

Resident doctors - who used to be called junior doctors - move into specialty training places after year two. This year there were more than 30,000 applicants for 10,000 jobs at this stage, although some will have been doctors from abroad.