Consultant doctors in England are set to embark on a two-day strike from November 25 in a dispute with the government over pay, working hours and other employment conditions.

The industrial action will begin at 6:59am GMT, with consultants providing only emergency services under a limited staffing arrangement commonly referred to as “Christmas Day cover.”

The walkout is expected to significantly disrupt routine NHS services, including elective and planned treatments, as consultants withdraw from non-emergency duties.

The strike follows unsuccessful negotiations between the British Medical Association (BMA) and the government after doctors voted in favour of industrial action in July.

Consultants, who are the most senior doctors in England’s National Health Service, received a 3.5 per cent pay increase this year. However, the BMA maintains that their real-terms earnings have declined by about 25 per cent over the past 17 years after inflation is taken into account.

The union is demanding further improvements to remuneration and working conditions, including reducing the standard working week from 40 hours to 35 hours.

It is also seeking increased compensation for work performed outside normal hours and changes to pension arrangements, particularly greater flexibility over when doctors can access their pension benefits.

In a joint statement, co-chairs of the BMA Consultants Committee, Dr Helen Neary and Dr Shanu Datta, said the union had entered negotiations with the government intending to reach an agreement.

They accused ministers of repeatedly delaying progress and said the lack of a satisfactory resolution had left consultants with no option but to proceed with industrial action.

The doctors’ representatives said consultants understood the consequences of striking but had become increasingly frustrated with their working conditions and remuneration.

Figures cited by the BBC show that consultants in England earn an average of more than £150,000 annually. Basic salaries begin at about £113,500, while doctors at the top of the pay scale can earn around £150,500, excluding additional payments and awards.

In the July ballot, 76 per cent of participating consultants voted to support strike action. However, slightly more than half of eligible BMA members took part in the vote.

The government has pointed out that those who voted for industrial action represented roughly one-fifth of all consultants employed by the NHS in England, while almost half of consultants are not members of the BMA.

Health Secretary Yvette Cooper said the government had been engaged in constructive negotiations with the union and described the decision to announce strike dates as disappointing.

She criticised the planned action, arguing that it would put additional pressure on an already stretched health service and describing the decision to strike as irresponsible.

The government estimates that meeting the BMA’s demands in full could cost between £2 billion and £3 billion annually.

The planned walkout comes amid wider industrial disputes involving doctors elsewhere in the UK, with consultants and other medical professionals also due to take industrial action in Northern Ireland during November.

Consultants in England last staged strike action in 2023 as part of a wider dispute over pay and working conditions.

Meanwhile, the prolonged dispute involving resident doctors in England was brought to an end earlier this year following more than three years of intermittent industrial action.