To prevent dangerous delays to cancer care, we are granting a derogation for surgical registrars working on high-risk upper GI, head and neck, and lung cancers at two hospital trusts:
- Lewisham and Greenwich
- Kings College Hospital
This will help patients who have experienced dangerous delays to their care due to the difficulties of mitigation against the unplanned and malicious cyber-attack.
The derogation only applies to surgical registrars in upper GI, head and neck, and lung cancer services at the two trusts listed. All other junior doctors, including at these trusts, still can and should strike.
We thank NHS England for raising their concerns with us in the interests of patient safety.
Strike dates in England
After 3 months of talks between junior doctors in England and the Government, the Prime Minister has still made no credible offer to junior doctors.
After the general election was called, the BMA gave the Government a final opportunity to make an offer and avoid strikes. This opportunity was not taken up.
As a result, the BMA’s junior doctors committee has decided to announce further strike dates which will take place in the run up to the General Election. This will involve a full walkout by junior doctors beginning at 7am on 27 June and ending at 7am on 2 July 2024.
We're aware that many doctors are being told their training is being automatically extended due to exceeding TOOT thresholds. This should not happen. The General Medical Council and NHS England confirm there should be no automatic extensions. Please read our TOOT during strike action guidance for further information.
Find out about pickets and rallies - let's make them our biggest and loudest yet.
![Junior doctor protestor with placard](/media/6196/junior_pay_protest_pay_their_worth_sign_25072022-11-min.jpg?rxy=0.085185185185185183,0.33189655172413796&width=966&height=592&rnd=133090138821570000)
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.
Re-ballot of junior doctors in England results
The re-ballot of junior doctors to extend our mandate for industrial action, and provide us with a mandate for action short of strike (ASOS), closed on 20 March 2024.
The results of the re-ballot are:
Turnout
- Number entitled to vote: 55,937
- Number of votes cast in the ballot: 34,601
- Turnout: 61.86%
Results
Question: Are you prepared to take part in strike action?
- Number of YES votes: 33,869 (97.97%)
- Number of NO votes: 702 (2.03%)
- Number of spoiled or otherwise invalid voting papers: 30
Question: Are you prepared to take part in action short of a strike?
- Number of YES votes: 33,411 (97.08%)
- Number of NO votes: 1,004 (2.92%)
- Number of spoiled or otherwise invalid voting papers: 186
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. 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.
Junior doctors explain why they are taking industrial action
During the February 2024 strikes, junior doctors explain why they are taking industrial action.
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
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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
![Pay Article Illustration](/media/1385/website-article-illustrations-08.png)
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
![Contract Article Illustration](/media/1389/website-article-illustrations-34.png)
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.
![Campaigns](/media/1757/website-article-illustrations-25.png)
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