PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer has asked the union representing resident doctors in England to reconsider a proposed pay and workforce deal, giving it 48 hours to respond. He warned that planned strike action would affect both doctors and patients.
Writing in The Times, Starmer said the British Medical Association had made a "reckless" decision by not putting the offer to a vote of its members, while announcing six days of strikes in April.
Resident doctors in England, formerly known as junior doctors, are set to strike from April 7 to April 13. The BMA said last week that the government’s offer did not address long-term pay erosion and staffing pressures in the National Health Service.
Starmer said the offer included an above-inflation pay rise this year and would take total pay increases over three years to around 35 per cent, along with reforms to pay progression aimed at rewarding experience.
"That is why walking away from this deal is the wrong decision. It is a reckless decision," Starmer wrote on Monday. "And doing so without even giving resident doctors themselves the chance to vote on it makes it even worse."
The deal also included reimbursement of mandatory exam fees, which can cost doctors thousands of pounds during training, and plans to create up to 4,500 additional speciality training posts over three years.
"If this deal is not put to a vote, those opportunities will be lost," Starmer said, urging the committee to allow members to vote on the offer.
The BMA, which represents about 55,000 resident doctors who make up nearly half of the medical workforce, said the proposed pay rise was below inflation. It also said the phased pay progression could lead to further real-terms losses.
Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA's resident doctors' committee, said the dispute was "not about arbitrary cut-offs" and added that any deadline would fall away once a credible and sustainable offer was made.
He said the union was seeking to resume talks with the government on Tuesday in an effort to reach a deal and avoid the strikes.
(With inputs from agencies)
