Junior and senior doctors in England to take joint strike action for first time

Junior and senior doctors in England plan to take joint strike action for the first time, the British Medical Association (BMA) union said on Thursday, threatening further disruption to the state-run health service in a long-running dispute over pay.

The BMA, which represents nearly 200,000 doctors in Britain, said junior doctors in England and their senior counterparts, known as consultants, would hold four days of combined walkouts - on Sept. 20 and Oct. 2-4.

Junior doctors have staged 19 days of strikes so far this year, while consultants have walked out on four, resulting in tens of thousands of cancelled appointments in the National Health Service (NHS).

In July, junior doctors were awarded a 6 per cent pay rise and 1,250 pound ($1,583) consolidated increase as part of a broader round of public sector pay awards for 2023/24, but the union has said doctors are still facing a pay cut in real terms.