Junior doctors have accepted 22% pay rise over two years to end their long-running dispute, which saw them take part in eleven separate strikes over 44 days
66% of junior doctors voted in favour of the deal.
The Government has also committed to work with the BMA to streamline the way in which junior doctors report additional hours they work, to ensure they are paid for the work they do. There is also agreement to reform the current system of rotational training for junior doctors as well as reviewing the training bottlenecks that previous Governments have imposed, which has manufactured the shortage of consultant and GP doctors.
The junior doctors committee co-chairs, Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, said:
“It should never have taken so long to get here, but we have shown what can be accomplished with our determination and with a government willing to simply sit down and talk realistically about a path to pay restoration. One strike was one strike too many.
“This deal marks the end of 15 years of pay erosion with the beginning of two years of modest above inflation pay rises. There is still a long way to go, with doctors remaining 20.8% in real terms behind where we were in 2008. Mr Streeting has acknowledged our pay has fallen behind and has talked about a journey to pay restoration. He believes the independent pay review body is the right vehicle for this, and if he is right then no doctor need strike over pay in future. However, in the event the pay review body disappoints, he needs to be prepared for the consequences.
“The resident doctors committee, as we will be called, will be using the next months to prepare to build on their success so that future cohorts of doctors never again need to see the kind of pay cuts we have. We thank all doctors who have seen us through to this point by standing on picket lines and fighting for their worth. The campaign is not over, but we, and they, can be proud of how far we have come.”
