The walkout had been due to begin at 7am on Monday 15 June and would have marked the 16th round of industrial action by resident doctors since 2023. While the immediate threat of disruption to NHS services has eased, the dispute has not yet been resolved, with doctors set to decide whether to accept the latest package.
Resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, have been engaged in a long-running disagreement with successive governments over pay and workforce issues. The latest development follows several days of talks between ministers and union representatives. According to the BMA, the decision to suspend strike action came after a last-minute offer was received from the government, allowing members to vote on the proposed settlement.
New Offer Halts Planned Industrial Action
The BMA confirmed on Saturday that resident doctors would no longer proceed with the strike scheduled to run until Friday 19 June. The union said the government had made an offer that it considered appropriate to put before its members.
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.”
He added that the negotiations had come late in the process but said the union had responded once the government altered its position. Dr Fletcher said doctors were seeking a fair deal that addressed both pay erosion and concerns about employment opportunities for newly qualified doctors.
According to reports, the offer includes an average pay increase of 6.6% to be fully implemented by April 2027. The package is also reported to include 4,500 training places over three years, annual progression arrangements for eligible part-time doctors and improved additional payments for medical academics.
The BMA warned that if members reject the proposal, plans for further industrial action next month could still go ahead. The union’s current strike mandate remains in place until August.
Government Highlights Pay Rises and Workforce Measures
The government welcomed the cancellation of the strike, arguing that the latest package provides a basis for ending a dispute that has continued since 2023.
Health Secretary James Murray described the development as positive for patients and said the government had sought to make progress in areas beyond pay. According to reports, ministers maintained that there would be no increase to this year’s pay award, but discussions had focused on training opportunities and working conditions.
Mr Murray said resident doctors had already received pay rises worth around 28.9% over the previous three years. Other reports placed the cumulative increase over four years at approximately 33%, including this year’s 3.5% rise.
The government said all funding associated with the new package would come from existing budgets. Mr Murray stated that the country could not afford to raise this year’s pay offer further and welcomed the BMA’s decision to engage with proposals covering other aspects of doctors’ careers.
The strike’s cancellation also removes immediate pressure on NHS services. Earlier this week, NHS England’s national medical director, Professor Frankie Swords, warned that the planned walkout would have coincided with warm weather and the World Cup, creating what she described as a “triple whammy of pressure” for the health service. Resident doctors will now vote on the offer, with the outcome determining whether the dispute moves towards settlement or further industrial action later in the summer.
