Resident doctors in England will vote on extending their strike mandate for another six months, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced. If the ballot succeeds, junior doctors could continue industrial action until August 2026, prolonging a dispute over pay and job security that has already triggered multiple walkouts.
The ballot runs from December 8 until February 2. The current strike mandate expires in January. The last walkout took place from November 14 to 19.
The BMA says the extension "should not be necessary." Dr. Jack Fletcher, chairman of the BMA's resident doctors' committee, criticized the government for failing to reach a deal months ago. He said a "responsible deal on jobs and pay" would have required only "a plan to gradually raise pay over a few years and some common-sense reforms to ensure job security so that doctors aren't threatened with unemployment."
Government Response Criticized
Fletcher accused the government of waiting until industrial action was announced before making an additional offer. He warned that if doctors approve the extended mandate, the government will have "little choice but to finally make a genuine offer that can take strikes off the table for years to come."
«Half-measures, delays and vague words will not cut it,» Fletcher said. Such a deal «was perfectly within reach of this Government and we had hoped they would seize the chance to rebuild our medical workforce. Instead the Government waited until we announced industrial action before making an additional offer.»
Impact on NHS
Fletcher acknowledged the difficulty of continued strikes. «Doctors want to be caring for patients, not standing on a picket line,» he said. «Patients don't want to see doctors struggling to find a job while they can't even see a GP. No-one wants to see another six months of disruption to the NHS.»
He added: «But if that is what it takes to move the Government into making these reforms, then that is what must be done.»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
