England doctors call off planned strike
A planned four-day strike by resident doctors in England has been called off after the UK government made a fresh last-minute offer on pay, jobs and career progression, the British Medical Association (BMA) announced on Saturday.The industrial action, which was scheduled to begin at 7 am on Monday and continue until Friday morning, would have marked the 16th strike by resident doctors since 2023 in an ongoing dispute over pay and working conditions within the National Health Service (NHS).
Government’s new proposal heads to members
The BMA said it would suspend strike action and put the revised government proposal to its members in a referendum.”We have always been clear that no strikes needed to go ahead if we received an offer appropriate to put to our members,” said Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctors committee.He added that doctors would decide whether the package adequately addresses long-standing concerns over pay erosion, training opportunities and workforce shortages.However, Fletcher warned that industrial action could resume as early as next month if members reject the deal.
What’s in the offer?
According to the union and government officials, the proposal does not include additional funding for this year’s pay settlement beyond the already announced 3.5 per cent rise. Instead, it offers:
- Faster progression through future pay scales
- Around 4,500 additional training posts for newly qualified doctors
- Coverage of professional exam fees
- Further salary increases that could take average pay growth to 6.6% by April 2027
- Government sources said all funding would come from existing NHS budgets.
Government hails opportunity for ‘industrial peace’
Health Secretary James Murray welcomed the suspension of the strike, describing it as a chance to move beyond years of disruption. “It is a positive and welcome development that the BMA have called off these unnecessary strikes,” Murray said.”The country simply cannot afford to increase the pay offer for this year. I am pleased that the BMA have recognised this, which has allowed us to make progress in other areas, such as training places and working conditions.”He added that the agreement represented a “good deal for resident doctors” and could help usher in a period of industrial stability.
Pay row far from over
Resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, have received cumulative pay rises of more than 33 per cent over the past four years, including this year’s 3.5 per cent increase.Despite that, the BMA argues doctors’ earnings remain nearly 20 per cent lower in real terms than they were in 2008 after accounting for inflation.The dispute, which began under the previous Conservative government and has continued under the Labour administration elected in 2024, has led to repeated NHS disruptions and thousands of postponed appointments and operations.While NHS England expects most services to continue as planned next week, hospitals are still expected to face challenges from cancellations already made ahead of the now-aborted strike.
