Junior Doctors Set New Strike Dates as NHS Pay Dispute Continues

The BMA's Resident Doctors Committee has announced a five-day strike in England from 15 to 19 June 2026. This is the latest round of industrial action in a dispute that has been running, with breaks in between, since 2023.

The strikes follow a familiar pattern for NHS managers. NHS England logged action in November 2025, five days in December 2025, and a six-day walkout in April 2026. That April action was called after resident doctors rejected a government pay offer that ministers said they would not improve. Reuters reported the April strikes began on 7 April 2026. The government did make a further offer before the June strikes were due, and resident doctors called off that action, according to the BMA. But the dispute was not fully resolved. The June 15–19 strike is now confirmed.

What the Earlier Strikes Cost

The impact of the 2023–24 strikes is documented. Government figures published in April 2025 show that 507,000 appointments and operations were cancelled and rescheduled between July 2023 and February 2024. Ministers used this figure as proof that a settlement in 2024 had ended the damage. Junior doctors voted 66% in favour of that deal — a 22.3% pay rise over two years. The government announced the accepted deal in September 2024. The strikes had lasted fifteen months.

That settlement has not lasted well. Within a year, the BMA was balloting again. December 2025 action was only narrowly averted: NHS England chief executive Jim Mackey wrote in December 2025 that there was a genuine possibility strikes could be called off, but only after a member survey. This kept trusts preparing for disruption almost until the last moment. The BMA had put a government offer to resident doctor members in December 2025, suggesting the underlying disagreement about pay was still unresolved.

Different Situations Across the UK

The dispute looks different in each part of the UK, and this matters for understanding the full picture.

In Scotland, resident doctors suspended planned strikes in January 2026 following a new offer on pay and contract reform. This was negotiated through Holyrood, where the Scottish Government handles health. The Scottish position has held since then. In Northern Ireland, where Stormont (the local assembly) similarly controls health, the situation is more fragile. As recently as 9 June 2026, the BMA's Northern Ireland committee called on the health minister to make a credible pay offer to avert strike action. This public appeal suggests negotiations there have not yet reached the point that resolved things in Scotland.

Wales, where the Senedd (the Welsh Parliament) holds health powers, has not been part of the verified information available for this report.

What This Means for the NHS in England

For hospital medical directors and workforce teams in England, the planning challenge ahead of 15 June is familiar. The government's own advice published in May 2026 sets out what hospitals should prepare for. Elective (planned) care — already the biggest performance challenge for NHS England — faces another pause, with extra pressure on an already long waiting list.

The bigger question is what happens next. Three rounds of strikes in eight months, even after a 2024 settlement that was supposed to resolve things, points to a real disagreement about what fair pay for junior doctors should be and what contract terms they should have. Neither side's individual offers have closed that gap. The BMA's willingness to ballot again so soon after 2024, and the rejection of the April offer that ministers described as final, suggests the two sides have quite different views of what the answer should look like — and who should pay for it.

For those watching health policy at Westminster, the Northern Ireland appeal is worth noticing. If Stormont does not move quickly, strikes could spread beyond England just as the June action is being managed. Scotland's January suspension shows what a credible offer can achieve. Whether the other devolved governments can or will match that is still an open question.