Three groups of NHS doctors in pay disputes in England will resume talks with the government, the British Medical Association (BMA) has said.
The union said on Friday that Junior doctors are expected to re-enter talks next week, while consultants said on Thursday that they were pausing strikes for talks, which the government indicated it was willing to resume.
A third group of BMA members, specialist, associate specialist, and specialty (SAS) doctors, have also been invited to the first former talks, the union said on Friday, adding that an indicative ballot of the group found 88 percent are prepared to strike.
Earlier this month, consultant and junior doctors held joint strikes during the Conservative Party annual conference to ramp up pressure on ministers.
The government has refused to sweeten the deals for junior and consultant doctors, which it said had given the former an average of 8.8 percent pay rise and the latter up to 10.3 percent increase.
Ballots Open on Nov. 6 if No Deal Reached
Following the joint strikes at the beginning of the month, BMA consultants also announced a four-week pause in industrial action to allow talks.On Thursday, the group said it had “received a reply from government indicating they are prepared to enter talks.”
The BMA has threatened to announce more strike dates and to reballot consultants from Nov. 6 for a fresh six-month mandate as it’s legally required to do so unless ministers present a “credible offer” by Nov. 3.
In a statement to PA, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it’s “pleased” to reopen talks but won’t make new offers of “headline pay.”
“We are pleased the BMA Junior Doctors’ Committee has agreed to enter talks, in the hope we will find a resolution and end the dispute,” the spokesperson said.
“We have been clear headline pay will not be on the table as doctors have already received a fair and reasonable pay rise as recommended by the independent pay review body, which we’ve accepted in full.
“This means doctors who started their hospital training this year have received a 10.3% pay increase, with the average junior doctor getting 8.8%.”
The government has also offered to meet SAS doctors next week, the BMA said on Friday.
The union said if the talks don’t “produce meaningful and detailed progress,” it will formally ballot SAS doctors on strike action.
The union has argued that the erosion of pay made doctors feel undervalued and made it difficult to recruit and retain doctors.
The months-long strikes by doctors, nurses, and other NHS staff have contributed to an ever-growing hospital waiting list, but unions have said health care workers chose to strike because they have been struggling with chronic staff shortages on normal days.
The government has been wary of topping pay for public sector employees amid runaway inflation fearing a further wage-price spiral. The Treasury is also struggling with balancing the books with £2.6 trillion public sector net debt and the spiralling cost of debt servicing.
Annual inflation in the UK peaked at 11.1 percent last October. It has fallen back down to 6.7 since August but still well above the target of 2 percent.
Taking bonuses into account, the annual nominal pay growth was 8.1 percent between June and August, partly owing to the NHS and civil service one-off payments made during the period, according to the Office for National Statistics.
