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Junior doctor strikes could come to an end after the government offered unions a new 20 per cent pay deal, it has been reported.
Following negotiations, health secretary Wes Streeting and the British Medical Association have come to an agreement which will be put to junior doctors to vote on, according to reports in The Times.
According to paper, the new deal will represent an overall pay rise of 20 per cent, worth £1 billion, which includes a backdated pay rise of 4.05 per cent for 2023-24, on top of an existing increase of between 8.8 per cent and 10.3 per cent.
Under the offer, junior doctors will be given a further pay rise of 6 per cent for 2024-25, which will be topped up by a consolidated £1,000 payment.
The Independent understands the overall pay uplight is slightly higher than the 20 per cent reported at 22.3 per cent.
Ministers entered formal negotiations with the BMA’s junior doctors’ committee days ago. The breakthrough comes after more than a year of strikes and deadlocks between the previous government and junior doctors.
On Monday GPs began a vote on whether they will take strike action in a move health leaders have said would have “catastrophic” impacts on the NHS.
Over the last year and a half, more than 1.4 million NHS appointments and operations have been cancelled due to strikes, with the cost to the health service estimated to have reached £3 billion.
Junior doctors in England have taken industrial action 11 times in the past 20 months.
Their last strike – which took place from 27 June to 2 July, just days before the general election – affected 61,989 appointments, procedures and operations, according to NHS England.
Mr Streeting and prime minister Keir Starmer have previously wad they would not meet previous pay demands from the BMA for junior doctors to get a 35 per cent pay rise. However, the BMA had indicated this would only need to be a starting point for negotiations.
Downing Street did not confirm or deny reports that junior doctors have been offered a 20 pay rise over two years.
Asked about the report in The Times, the prime minister’s spokesperson told reporters: “As we’ve said before, we’re committed to working to find a solution, resolving this dispute, but I can’t get into detailed running commentary on negotiations.
“We’ve been honest with the public and the sector about the economic circumstances we face. But the government is determined to do the hard work necessary to finally bring these strikes to an end.”
They added the industrial action has been “hugely damaging both to patients and to the impact on the waiting lists and we’ve said we’re committed to finding a solution and resolving this dispute”.
