Specialist, associate specialist and specialty grade (SAS) doctors in Northern Ireland are to stage two 24-hour strikes later this month after overwhelmingly backing industrial action.

The British Medical Association (BMA) said 90% of SAS doctors who voted supported a walkout, following the rejection of a 3.5% pay uplift. The stoppages are scheduled for 25 June and 29 June.

Dr Leanne Davison, chair of the BMA’s Northern Ireland SAS committee, said the result reflected the strength of feeling about long-term pay erosion. She stated that doctors’ pay had been steadily eroded since 2008.

She emphasised that the decision was not taken lightly and that strike action remained avoidable. The onus was now on the government to bring forward a meaningful offer that moved towards pay restoration, she added.

Dr Clodagh Corrigan, deputy chair of the committee, said SAS doctors in Northern Ireland were the lowest-paid hospital doctors in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. She warned that the health service was haemorrhaging talent and that without a resolution it would become impossible to provide a service.

The SAS ballot comes after consultants and resident doctors in Northern Ireland also voted in favour of industrial action earlier this week. Resident doctors previously held a 48-hour strike in May 2024.