First-year doctors in England have voted in favour of strike action over their jobs.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said the ballot of first-year resident doctors saw 97% (or 3,950) voting for strike action on a turnout of 65%, providing a “mandate for industrial action alongside the linked dispute over eroded pay”.
According to the union, 34% of resident doctors surveyed said they had no substantive employment or regular work from August 2025.
This rose to more than half (52%) among FY2 (foundation year two) doctors.
The BMA said no strikes are currently planned, but current talks with the Government on pay “will now have to produce a solution on jobs as well as the 21% pay erosion resident doctors have endured since 2008 to avoid future action.”
