Junior doctors in England have called off a planned four-day strike scheduled to begin on Monday, after the government made a last-minute pay offer. The British Medical Association (BMA) announced on Saturday that the offer would be put to a vote of its members.
The strike, which would have been the 16th round of industrial action since 2023, was called off after the government presented an offer including an average 6.6% pay uplift to be fully implemented by April 2027. The offer also includes standard 2016 resident doctor contract terms for all locally employed doctors.
Dr Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA's resident doctors committee, said: 'We have always been clear that no strikes needed to go ahead if we received an offer appropriate to put to our members. This should not have been left to the last moment, but we hold up our end of the bargain when the government shifts its position.'
Health Secretary James Murray welcomed the decision, calling it 'a positive and welcome development – especially for patients'. However, he noted that after a 28.9% pay rise for junior doctors over the last three years, 'the country simply cannot afford to increase the pay offer for this year'.
The BMA said tens of thousands of frontline doctors will now vote in a referendum on whether the offer is sufficient. If rejected, the union warned of further escalated strike action next month.
