Breakthrough pay offer will be put to BMA members for a vote
Junior doctors in England have struck a new pay deal with ministers that amounts to a 22.3% pay increase over two years in a breakthrough in the long running dispute, it has been reported.
Following negotiations between the Government and the British Medical Association (BMA), junior doctors are to be offered a pay deal that includes a backdated pay rise of 4% for 2023/24, a one off payment of £1,000, a rise of 6% for 2024/25 and an existing increase between 8.1% and 10.3%.
According to The Times which broke the story, the BMA will put the offer to its members who will vote on whether to accept it and therefore ending the strike action.
The union initially made a 35% pay restoration demand to reverse a decade of real terms pay cuts in the sector, however the offer from the Labour government represents a significantly improved deal compared to previous staled negotiations with Conservative minister.
If accepted, the deal would end the long-running dispute that has affected junior doctors and services for 20 months under the Tory government which failed to solve the issue that saw ongoing strike action, at a financial cost of over £1bn. The offer compares to an 8% pay increase imposed on junior doctors by the previous government last year.
Formal negotiations between the BMA and the Department of Health and Social Care under Labour began on Tuesday 23 July and were due to conclude by 16 August.
Rachel Reeves is expected to confirm the pay rise this afternoon when she is set to make a statement on the public finances.
The BMA has confirmed it will recommend the offer to members. BMA’s junior doctors committee (JDC) co-chairs Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said the offer “changes the current trajectory of our pay, en though there is further to go yet.”
They said in a statement: “It should never have taken so long to get here, but this offer shows what can be achieved when both parties enter negotiations in a constructive spirit.”
It added: “We recognise the speed and effort put into this round of negotiations which we believe shows the beginning of a Government that is learning to treat doctors with more respect. There is a catastrophic NHS workforce crisis that needs addressing and they at least appear to recognise that fixing pay must be part of the solution.”
This article will be updated as the story develops.
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward
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