Resident doctors are set to vote on whether to extend strike action amid the continuing dispute with the Government around restoration of pay and jobs.
The BMA resident doctors committee is set to ballot doctors in England on extending the right to take industrial action, with the current mandate set to expire in January.
The ballot, which will run from 8 December to 2 February 2026, comes in the wake of an unprecedented 13 rounds of strike action, the latest of which saw doctors stage a full, five-day walk out between 14 and 18 November.
A ‘yes’ vote would see the RDC’s mandate for strike action extended until August 2026
BMA resident doctors committee chair Jack Fletcher (pictured above) said it was regrettable another extension to continue industrial action was necessary, adding he hoped another ‘yes’ vote would convince the Government of doctors’ determination for real change.
He said: ‘A new mandate for strikes should not be necessary. We should have been able to put this dispute to bed months ago with a responsible deal on jobs and pay. It would have only taken a plan to gradually raise pay over a few years and some common-sense reforms to ensure job security so that doctors aren’t threatened with unemployment.
‘Such a plan was perfectly within reach of this Government, and we had hoped they would seize the chance to rebuild our medical workforce. Instead, the Government waited until we announced industrial action before making an additional offer.’
He added: ‘We’re asking doctors to vote for the mandate for six months’ more industrial action. If they do, it should finally be clear to the Government that half-measures, delays and vague words will not cut it. They will have little choice but to finally make a genuine offer that can take strikes off the table for years to come.’
Disputed offer
Resident doctors returned to picket lines earlier this month after negotiations between the RDC and the Department of Health failed to make meaningful progress on restoring pay or addressing the unemployment crisis.
The BMA has condemned the Government’s refusal to consider a multiyear pay deal for resident doctors, as well as plans to award a 2.5 per cent pay increase next year, a move which would see doctors receive real-terms pay cut.
The association has also warned that Wes Streeting’s plans to create 2,000 new specialty training places over three years, with an estimated 30,000 doctors applying for just 10,000 specialty training positions this year alone.
Dr Fletcher said: ‘This has been a difficult period for everyone involved. Doctors want to be caring for patients, not standing on a picket line. Patients don’t want to see doctors struggling to find a job while they can’t even see a GP.
‘No one wants to see another six months of disruption to the NHS. But if that is what it takes to move the Government into making these reforms, then that is what must be done.’