BMA resident doctors in Scotland vote to strike in January

Resident doctors in Scotland have voted to go on strike in January – as their union called on the devolved government to present a "credible" pay offer.

The British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland announced on Friday that 92% of its members who voted in the ballot were in favour of the industrial action. The turnout was 58%.

The strikes are scheduled to start at 7am on Tuesday 13 January, and end at 7am on Saturday 17 January – unless progress is made in pay talks.

The announcement comes amid an ongoing strike action by resident doctors in England, which began on Wednesday and will last until Monday.

Chris Smith, chair of the BMA Scottish resident doctors committee, said its members were "united in anger", and claimed the Scottish government had reneged on a pay deal it agreed two years ago.

He said: "We are simply asking for the government to deliver on what they previously promised, an offer which will provide a meaningful, continued and crucially credible step on the path towards addressing the pay erosion which resident doctors have suffered from since 2008.

"If they had kept to their commitment, and the trajectory towards pay restoration, this dispute could have been averted.

"And there is still time to avoid strikes – BMA Scotland resident doctors remain committed to the deal when it is being upheld in its entirety."

In 2023, junior doctors – as resident doctors used to be called – in Scotland agreed to a new pay deal, and to further talks in each year "to make credible progress on the path towards pay restoration", the union said.

BMA Scotland said in October that resident doctors were offered a 4.25% uplift for 2025/26, which it said broke the agreement with the Scottish government.

Mr Smith said at the time: "We are already 17% worse off than our peers were in 2008 and this would have made that worse".

The Scottish health secretary said on Friday that he was "disappointed" in the vote, and offered to meet with Mr Smith for talks on Monday.

Neil Gray said the 4.25% uplift was "part of a two-year deal" and was "the same as accepted by nurses and other NHS staff".

"This means by 2027, we will have delivered a cumulative pay rise of 35% in four years," he added.

"Our top priority for our patients and the workforce is to improve waiting times, access to the NHS and positive outcomes. Industrial action will put all that progress at risk."

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Meanwhile, resident doctors' strikes in England are set to enter their fourth day, after the BMA said 83% of English members had rejected a fresh proposal from the Labour government.

Sir Keir Starmer called the action "irresponsible", while Health Secretary Wes Streeting accused the union of a "shocking disregard for patient safety".

The BMA said the strike was "entirely avoidable" and has demanded a "credible offer" for English doctors to avert "real-terms pay cuts".

Sky News has contacted the Scottish government for comment.

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