Resident doctors in England began a six-day strike on Tuesday after rejecting a government offer that officials said would not improve, with the British Medical Association arguing it failed to address years of pay erosion and staffing shortages.
The walkout, taking place over the Easter holiday period, is set to continue until the morning of April 13 after a 48-hour deadline from Prime Minister Keir Starmer expired without a deal.
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The government has withdrawn its promise to fund 1,000 additional specialty training posts, saying the commitment was dependent on the deal being accepted.
Health minister Wes Streeting said the government would not divert funds needed for patient services toward a settlement it considers unaffordable. He estimated the strike could cost the health service around £50 million ($66 million) per day, totaling roughly £300 million over the six-day walkout.
Wes Streeting stated that resident doctors had been offered the largest pay increase of any public sector group under the Labour Party government, yet they rejected the proposal without presenting an alternative offer.
Streeting had said that the offer “doesn’t get better than this” when urging the union to reconsider last month.
The British Medical Association represents roughly 55,000 resident doctors previously referred to as junior doctors who account for nearly half of the country’s medical workforce.
BMA DENOUNCES LONG-TERM PAY EROSION
Since early 2023, the British Medical Association has carried out more than a dozen rounds of industrial action over pay, with successive governments blaming the strikes for hampering efforts to reduce waiting lists in the state-run health service.
The union argues that the government’s pay and workforce proposals do not go far enough to address long-standing issues, including years of pay increases that fell below inflation.
The current offer includes a 3.5% raise this year considered by the government as an above-inflation increase bringing total pay rises over three years to approximately 35%. It also includes reimbursements for mandatory exam fees, which can cost doctors thousands of pounds.
Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA resident doctors’ committee, said the union was concerned that the level of investment in the deal had been reduced, the proposed reforms were spread out over several years, and uncertainties remained regarding the rollout of new training posts.
He added that the government’s threat to withdraw parts of the agreement had further undermined confidence in the settlement.
