Hospital consultants who are members of the British Medical Association in England will go on strike on 20 and 21 July if medics vote for action.
The 48-hour walkout will affect routine services, but emergency care will be covered after the BMA promised to provide a Christmas Day level of cover. The result of the ballot is due on 27 June, but the BMA said it wanted to give the NHS notice of the strike.Pay has fallen by 27% since 2008 once inflation is taken into account, the BMA said.
Unlike the junior doctors, who will be involved in the third walkout of their pay dispute next week, consultants are not asking for full pay restoration in one go.'Strike not inevitable' Last year they received a 4.5% pay increase - less than half the rate of RPI inflation in the 12 months to March.On average, consultants make nearly £30,000 a year in extra earnings through working additional hours and from other supplements.Dr Vishal Sharma, BMA consultants committee chairman, said: "Strike action is not inevitable and it is well within the government's gift to present us with a reasonable offer that would stop industrial action in its tracks.