Resident doctors call off strike after Labour makes fresh pay offer

Resident doctors in England have called off a planned four-day strike after ministers tabled a fresh pay offer.

The British Medical Association (BMA) had been due to begin industrial action at 7am on Monday in what would have been the 16th round of strikes since 2023.

The walkout was suspended following a breakthrough in talks between the Government and union leaders.

Health Secretary James Murray welcomed the decision, saying it was good news for both patients and NHS staff.

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"It is a positive and welcome development, especially for patients, that the BMA have called off these unnecessary strikes," he said.

The proposed deal covers pay, career progression and working conditions and will now be put to a ballot of BMA members in the coming weeks.

Mr Murray said the agreement demonstrated that ministers were willing to work constructively with doctors and unions to improve conditions across the health service.

Under the proposals, resident doctors would receive an average pay rise of 6.6 per cent by next April.

The package also includes accelerated progression through pay scales, funding for examination fees and the creation of 4,500 additional training posts for newly qualified doctors.

The Government said the offer builds on pay increases already awarded in recent years.

Resident doctors have received pay rises worth 33 per cent over the past four years, including a 3.5 per cent increase as part of this year's settlement.

Starting salaries for resident doctors now exceed £40,000, while the most experienced can earn £76,500 before additional payments for overtime, weekends and night shifts.

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Mr Murray said that after a 28.9 per cent increase over three years, the country could not afford significantly larger pay rises this year.

The BMA's resident doctors committee chairman, Dr Jack Fletcher, said the breakthrough had come later than it should have.

"This should not have been left to the last moment, but we hold up our end of the bargain when the Government shifts its position," he said.

"Tens of thousands of frontline doctors will now vote in a referendum on whether this offer is sufficient."

Despite the strike being called off, some disruption is still expected.

NHS England said around 95 per cent of planned operations and appointments will go ahead, although thousands of procedures had already been postponed ahead of the proposed industrial action.

The BMA has argued that doctors' real-terms pay remains around 20 per cent lower than it was in 2008 when adjusted for inflation.

Since industrial action began in 2022, more than 1.5 million NHS appointments and procedures have been rescheduled.

Sir Ciarán Devane, chief executive of the NHS Alliance, said the decision represented an opportunity to reset relations between ministers and doctors.

He urged both sides to use the breakthrough to secure a fair and sustainable long-term settlement.

Meanwhile, senior doctors in England could still take industrial action after the BMA rejected a separate 3.5 per cent pay offer for consultants and specialist, associate specialist and speciality doctors.

In Northern Ireland, resident doctors are still expected to stage a 24-hour strike on June 29, while consultants plan to provide emergency-only cover on June 25.

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