Northern Ireland secondary care doctors balloted on strike action over pay

Secondary care doctors in Northern Ireland are being balloted on industrial action over pay after the British Medical Association (BMA) described this year’s recommended pay uplift as insufficient.

The ballot, which opened yesterday, 11th May, includes consultants, specialist, associate specialist and specialty (SAS) doctors, and resident doctors working in secondary care across Northern Ireland.

It will run for four weeks until 8th June. If members vote in favour, all doctors working in Northern Ireland’s hospitals could hold mandates for industrial action simultaneously.

The dispute centres on the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 3.5% pay rise for 2026, which doctors’ leaders say does not address nearly two decades of pay erosion.

Dr David Farren, chair of the BMA Northern Ireland consultants committee, said: “We are balloting because successive, sub-inflationary, and late pay awards are seriously undermining the morale of doctors and driving them away from the health service.

“The DDRB recommended uplift of 3.5% for this year simply does not address years of pay erosion or recognise the complex, highly pressurised work doctors are responsible for.”

Farren added: “Not only that, when we met with the health minister recently, he was unable to assure us that doctors will be paid this uplift this year.

“It is indefensible to continually treat key staff this way and rely on their goodwill to keep the health service running. It is why we are losing consultants to early retirement and jobs in other countries.”