United Kingdom: The Minister of Health and government representatives are considering a ban on doctors’ strikes

Health officials in the UK are discussing imposing a strike ban on doctors in the country – a sign of growing desperation within the government to resolve the doctors’ campaign for a pay rise, which has been going on for 3 years.

However, other sources stressed that no formal policy proposal for a ban was being considered and that ministers were still hoping for an agreed solution with the British Medical Association (BMA), which is the country’s main doctors’ union.

Streeting said this week that he had not considered a strike ban “so far”, but reserved the possibility of revisiting the idea if the pay dispute continued without any sign of progress. The current recess began at 7 am on Tuesday (local time). Discussions of the ban arose after frustration on the part of the BMA, with government officials saying they now fear they will not be able to meet any compromise agreement. They said BMA representatives reached an agreement during talks last month, but backed out after it became clear it was unpopular with the union’s board of specialist doctors. The BMA denies this.

One of Streeting’s first steps when he took office in 2024 was to raise doctors’ pay, in an effort to resolve the dispute that is hurting efforts to meet Labour’s pledge to reduce waiting lists. The Ministry of Health said in a statement: “As the Secretary of State made clear, the government is not considering prohibiting doctors from striking.”