The BMA is calling for NHS junior doctors in England to take strike action in December and January.
The first strike action will take place over 3 days from 7am on Wednesday 20 December to 7am on Saturday 23 December.
The second strike action will take place over 6 days from 7am on Wednesday 3 January until 7am on Tuesday 9 January.
This means you should not attend any shifts starting after 6:59am on the first day of strike action. You can then attend any shifts starting from 7am on the final day.
BMA strike fund - donate now
A strike fund is available to subsidise members in serious financial difficulty who otherwise couldn’t afford to take part in any future rounds of strike action.
The strike fund is supported through voluntary donations to make available to doctors in need.
Why junior doctors are taking industrial action
While workload and waiting lists are at record highs, junior doctors’ pay has been cut by more than a quarter since 2008.
A crippling cost-of-living crisis, burnout and well below inflation pay rises risk driving hard working doctors out of their profession at a time when we need them more than ever. To protect the NHS, the Government must engage and address doctors’ concerns. But so far, they have refused to meet with us. This has left doctors with no other option but to take industrial action. If junior doctors are forced out of the NHS because of poor pay and conditions, the services we all rely on to look after our loved ones will suffer.
Campaign resources
Download a range of campaign materials to share on social media and in your communal work and rest areas.
Play your part and get involved.
Download our factsheet about the campaign
Real life stories
Enough is enough
The Doctor has spoken to a range of junior doctors about why they are considering industrial action.
In a series of interviews, Ben Ireland and Tim Tonkin speak to:
- Foundation year 1 Daniel Zahedi
- Foundation year 2 Vanya Gurr
- Foundation year 2 Alistair Ludley
- Foundation year 2 Vassili Crispi
- Registrar Ellen Newberry
- ST2 Priyesh Parekh
- ST3 GP registrar Ayesha Shafaq:
- ST4 registrar Kerrie Thackray
- Core surgical trainee Roshan Rupra
How we got here
Our calculations show that pay awards for junior doctors in England have delivered a real terms (RPI) pay cut.
Junior doctors in England are guaranteed a 2% pay rise in 2022/23, as part of the multi-year pay deal agreed in 2019. This contract also brought an additional £90 million investment and many significant improvements on the 2016 contract.
From our perspective, the deal provided a guarantee of annual uplifts that were higher than those seen since 2008, in the context of an uncertain time due to the potential impacts of an impending Brexit. 82% of junior doctor members who voted in the referendum on the new contract, agreed to accept them.
However, the contract was agreed before the pandemic started and when inflation was below 2%. Our new calculations show that pay awards for junior doctors in England from 2008/09 to 2021/22 have delivered a real terms (RPI) pay cut of 26.1%, even accounting for total investment secured through the multi-year pay deal agreed in 2019.
Junior doctor pay analysis methodology - September 2022
Junior doctor pay restoration costing analysis methodology - January 2023
The DDRB themselves state that not applying pay award would have a significant impact on retention and more.
Doctors in training in England were once again excluded from the pay award process because their contract is still subject to a multiple-year pay deal, awarding them 2% for 2022/23.
This is in spite of the Framework Agreement for the 2018 contract negotiations, which established the current pay deal, explicitly stating that the DDRB is able to make further pay recommendations or observations on behalf of junior doctors in England where requested (8.1). They once again decided that because this group was not included in the UK Government's remit letter, they are unable to make formal recommendations on their behalf, allowing the UK Government to disregard them altogether.
While the 4.5% uplift would in any case be unsatisfactory, amounting to a likely 6% pay cut in the face of spiralling inflation, to exclude junior doctors in England from the award given to other NHS workers is nothing less than a betrayal of the profession.
As the DDRB themselves note, a decision not to apply an award to groups subject to a pay deal will have 'a significant effect on motivation, affecting retention, productivity, and ultimately patient care'. They actively state that the headline increase of 2%, set as part of the current deal, is 'likely not sufficient' to address those issues.
The junior doctors committee has escalated our campaign on pay.
Since early 2022, the JDC (junior doctors committee) has escalated our campaign on pay to challenge the government to make a fair pay award for NHS junior doctors this year, that addresses the long term pay erosion our members have faced.
JDC also made the decision to withdraw from the DDRB process this year for junior doctors in England in response to concerns over the body's effectiveness and independence from Government.
Watch our webinars
International doctors
This webinar aimed at international doctors, explains the visa constraints when taking industrial action.
Watch the Visas and industrial action webinar
BMA activists
The following two webinars for BMA members, are aimed at activists to explain how we got here and how you can help build a movement.
BMA members - sign in to watch the webinars
