Wes Streeting, the new health secretary, is meeting the British Medical Association today in an effort to bring an end to junior doctors’ 20-month pay dispute in England.
The BMA’s junior doctors’ committee is seeking to restore pay back to 2008 levels and has consistently requested a 35% pay rise.
Labour has described that figure as unaffordable but has said that pay restoration is “a journey, not an event”, giving doctors hope that negotiations with the new government could progress better than under the Conservatives.
Junior doctors pay talks
Junior doctors announce pre-election strike
Junior doctors have said they are open to a multi-year deal. Junior doctors in Scotland and Wales accepted a 12.4% pay settlement, alongside promises to return pay to 2008 levels.
Professor Philip Banfield, chair of the BMA council wrote to Streeting on Friday offering to “work together to get the NHS back on its feet”, with the aim of resolving disputes, bringing waiting lists down and delivering an improved health service for staff and patients.
Banfield said the junior doctors’ pay dispute must and can be resolved as soon as possible. “We have heard your commitment to pay restoration as a journey and put our faith in your intentions to work together towards a resolution,” he said in the letter.
The 35% figure has been disputed by some experts with the Institute of Fiscal Studies reporting earlier this year that doctors’ real average earnings in 2023 were 14.7% lower than in 2010.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “Ministers know they are inheriting a bulging in-tray. There is a funding crisis engulfing the NHS and resolving pay disputes with junior doctors and GPs must be an urgent priority. Otherwise, the clear risk is that the task of tackling lengthy waiting lists and restoring performance in other areas will be held back.
“But we must be under no illusions that these are the only things that need done – the road to recovery is going to be very long following a decade of underinvestment in the health service.
“Our members are hopeful the new government can support the NHS to turn a corner following austerity, the pandemic, industrial action and other recovery challenges. We are all encouraged by the pledges set out by the government before it took office, but now those pledges need to be backed up by action.”
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “It’s vital that the government works with trust leaders to get to grips with the challenges facing the NHS as well as the opportunity to make the NHS better for patients and staff.
“A healthy NHS is vital for the nation’s health and wellbeing. To maintain safe, high-quality care and to boost productivity and cut waiting lists, trusts need support to nurture a thriving workforce. Resolving ongoing industrial disputes and restoring staff confidence by announcing the next round of pay awards are vital first steps.”
Junior doctors have gone on strike for more than 40 days since they first walked out in March 2023, resulting in 1.5 million cancelled appointments and operations.
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