Our December strike action
First-year foundation doctors (FY1s) in England took to the picket lines from 17-22 December in the fight for jobs and pay.
They joined other resident doctors who were also fighting for pay restoration.
The strike followed an indicative poll, where members rejected a last-minute offer put forward by the Government.
We’ve been clear with the Government that we need sufficient progress on both issues. The Government’s latest offer moved forwards on jobs but not on headline pay.
Watch our wrap video.
Vote YES in our re-ballot
With our mandate solely on pay restoration for other resident doctors coming to an end in January, we are now balloting all resident doctors over jobs and pay.
That means that if you are an FY1 doctor who voted for strike action over jobs and pay in September, this re-ballot includes you.
This will give us a single mandate that firmly unites all resident doctors - and shows the Government our collective strength.
It does not affect our existing mandates for resident doctors in England to strike again in December.
Keep an eye out for our orange envelopes landing and make sure to post your ballot paper back by 26 January.
The ballot will run from 8 December to 2 February.
Visit our ballot guidance page to find out more – and why it’s so important that you vote YES.
The specialty training places crisis explained
After completing their first two years as a foundation doctor, residents go on to train in specialities – from neurology to surgery, paediatrics to emergency medicine.
This training can last from three to eight years, depending on the specialty. Resident doctors go through a competitive application process before they can start their specialty training programme. Some programmes require doctors to complete a two to three year core training programme before re-applying to higher specialty training.
However, poor workforce planning by successive governments means there aren’t enough specialty training places for them to go to, stunting their careers and depriving the NHS of the staff it needs to get down waiting lists.
We’ve seen how serious these bottlenecks are. This year in the UK, there were more than 30,000 doctors applying in round one of specialty training, competing for one of around 10,000 places.
That means we have resident doctors – both fresh out of foundation training and later in their careers - who have spent years studying and want to work in the NHS, unable to find a job.
