Doctors in England begin six-day strike after rejecting government's pay and workforce deal

Doctors in England launch a six-day strike over rejected pay and workforce deal, citing long-standing issues and insufficient investment.

Resident doctors ‌in England on Tuesday (April 7, 2026) started a six-day walkout after rejecting ​an offer the government said would not get ⁠better, with the British Medical Association saying it fell short of reversing years of pay erosion and staffing pressures. The strike action during the Easter holiday ‌period is due to run until the morning of April 13 after a 48-hour ultimatum from Prime Minister ‌Keir Starmer passed without agreement.

The government has now withdrawn ‌a ⁠pledge to fund 1,000 additional specialty training posts that ⁠it said had been contingent on the deal being accepted.

“Walking away from this deal is the wrong decision. It is a reckless decision,” Mr. Starmer said at ​the time.

The BMA represents ‌about 55,000 of the so-called resident doctors — formerly known as junior doctors — who make up nearly half of the medical workforce.

Since early 2023 the BMA has ‌held more than a dozen rounds of industrial action over ​pay.

The union says the government’s offer on pay and workforce does not go far enough to address ⁠long-standing concerns, including historical below-inflation pay increases.