England Consultants Win 12-Month Strike Mandate as 76% Back Action Over Pay
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 6
England Consultants Win 12-Month Strike Mandate as 76% Back Action Over Pay
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 6
Summary
13,695 consultants in England voted for possible strike action, giving senior doctors a 12-month mandate after 76% of participating BMA members backed industrial action.
Pay and pensions drove the ballot: the BMA says consultant pay is still 26% lower in real terms than 17 years ago and that top pay in England trails Wales by £16,000.
The government rejected the case for strikes, saying consultants average more than £152,000 a year and basic starting pay has risen 28.5% over the past four years.
The vote follows resident doctors accepting a pay deal that ended three years of strikes, while an England ballot of SAS doctors failed the 50% legal turnout threshold despite 90% support among those voting.
Any walkout would revive pressure on the NHS after hundreds of thousands of appointments were canceled in recent years; consultants in England last struck in 2023.