Junior doctors strike: NHS Scotland strikes averted as BMA and Scottish Government reach breakthrough

The union representing junior doctors in their pay dispute with the Scottish Government has agreed to put a new pay offer to its members.

Planned strikes from NHS Scotland’s junior doctors have been averted, after the British Medical Association (BMA) agreed to put the Scottish Government’s latest pay offer to its members.

If the offer is accepted by a ballot of the BMA’s junior doctors, this year the medics will receive a pay rise of 12.4 per cent. For the following three financial years, junior doctors will receive a guaranteed minimum pay uplift of inflation every year.

The Scottish Government has committed to negotiate further annual pay rises over this three-year period on top of inflation that must “make credible progress on the path towards pay restoration”.

The leadership of BMA Scotland’s junior doctor committee has confirmed it will put a new offer to its members

In addition, BMA Scotland will enter contract negotiations with the Scottish Government from this autumn, with the aim of improving the working and training conditions of junior doctors in Scotland by April 2026.

The BMA’s Scottish Junior Doctor Committee (SJDC) has agreed it will recommend its members accept the offer in a consultative vote in coming weeks.

Speaking after a full meeting of the committee, Dr Chris Smith, chair of the SJDC, said: “This has been an intense period of negotiation with the Scottish Government.

“At this stage, our negotiating team feel they have reached the limit of what can be achieved this year and do not think strike action would result in a materially improved offer. As a result, we have agreed to suspend next week’s strikes and put this offer to our members.

“This offer commits the Government to working with doctors to restore our pay and prevent pay erosion from occurring in the future.

“This is an unprecedented shift from the Scottish Government, which is a recognition of the huge decline in real terms pay that doctors have experienced over the past 15 years, and the huge amount of work needed to undo the damage this has caused to the NHS.”

Health secretary Michael Matheson said: “Following months of negotiations with BMA Scotland, I am delighted that we have agreed a pay deal for 2023/24 for our junior doctors. BMA have agreed to suspend strike action in Scotland while they consult with their members.

“I hope this investment and the significant commitments we have given around pay and contract reform will show junior doctors how much we value them, and that we are determined to ensure that Scotland is the place for junior doctors to work and train.

“Some patients may have been contacted to say their treatment has been cancelled. We are working hard with health boards to make sure appointments that can go ahead do, and that any others are rescheduled as soon as possible.”

This pay deal will cost the Scottish Government £61.3 million, and will mean a doctor at the start of their career will receive a salary increase of £3,429 in 2023/24. The rise would be £7,111 over the same period for those at the end of their training.