Following weeks of talks with Government, the BMA’s Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) has determined that the Health Secretary’s final offer was insufficient and called further strike action in England. The action will run from 7am on 7th April to 6.59am on 13th April.Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of RDC, said:
“We have been negotiating in good faith for weeks to try and end the simultaneous pay and jobs crises for resident doctors. Frustratingly we had been making good progress right up until the point, in the last two weeks, when the Government began to shift the goalposts.
“As talks progressed it became clear that the money proposed for pay increases was now going to be spread over three years. This is combined with today’s pay review body (DDRB) recommendation of a 3.5% uplift pointing to yet more years in which our pay, at best, barely treads water.
“We have made abundantly clear throughout this dispute that our aim is pay restoration, and any deal that did not move us substantially in that direction was not going to fly.
“We also cannot ignore that, thanks to global events, economic indicators now point to years of greatly increased inflation. We are simply not going to put an offer to doctors that risks locking in further erosion of pay at a time when doctors continue to leave the UK for other countries.
“We are not closing the door on talks. We remain willing to negotiate and are eager to get a deal done if we can simply recapture the early positive spirit of negotiations. No strikes need to happen, but Government will need to act fast to prevent them.”
Notes to editors
The Government offer comprised
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Pay: 3.5% DDRB award for 2026/27, plus reform to pay progression phased over three years.
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Exam fees: Mandatory Royal College exam fees reimbursed from April 2026 for resident doctors and LEDs.
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Training places: A minimum of 4,000 additional specialty training posts over three years, with a target of 4,500, with 1,000 brought forward to April 2026.
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Other: Measures to improve the contractual arrangements for LEDs and progression opportunities for Locally Employed Doctors and Less Than Full Time doctors.
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Review of the implementation of exception reporting with a view of identifying alternatives to the geolocation and corroboration requirements that have proven problematic.
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Renaming of the GP Flexible Pay Premia to the General Practice Registrar Enhancement.
The BMA is a professional association and trade union representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.