Junior doctors announce second round of strikes, with walkouts on four more days in April
23 March 2023, 14:37 | Updated: 23 March 2023, 16:17
Junior doctors are set to walk out on four more days next month after failing to agree a new pay deal with the government, their union has said.
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The British Medical Association said its junior doctor members in England will strike for 96 hours between 6.59am on Tuesday, April 11 and 6.59am on Saturday, April 15.
It comes after a three-day strike earlier this month, which resulted in 172,000 appointments and procedures being cancelled.
The BMA said the government had not come up with "any credible offer" and said that the government had "dragged its feet" in negotiating leading to the April strikes.
The junior doctors want a 35% pay rise following the cost of living crisis and inflation rises, which they say is in line with 2008 levels. The government have said this is unreasonable. Union leaders met Health Secretary Steve Barclay yesterday but the meeting ended without progress.
Junior Doctor: 5% pay deal is 'absolutely pathetic'
Dr Vivek Trivedi and Dr Robert Laurenson, co-chairs of the BMA junior doctor committee, said: "It is with disappointment and great frustration that we must announce this new industrial action. The government has dragged its feet at every opportunity.
Read more: Strike action paused as NHS unions and government reach deal on pay
"It has not presented any credible offer and is refusing to accept that there is any case for pay restoration, describing our central ask as 'unrealistic' and 'unreasonable'.
"Even yesterday they continued to add new unacceptable pre-conditions to talks instead of getting on and trying to find a resolution."
Mr Barclay said he had met the BMA "in the hope of beginning constructive talks".
He added: "They placed a pre-condition on these talks of a 35% pay rise. That is unreasonable. My door remains open to constructive conversations, as I have had with other health unions."
It comes after unions representing nurses and ambulance drivers accepted fresh pay deals from the government, following several strikes in recent months.
Meanwhile the RMT union also called off strikes set for next week, with a new pay agreement from railway operators on the table.
