Resident doctors are making a mistake by rejecting the latest pay deal
Resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors, are making a grave mistake by walking away from the pay deal that has been put to them by the Government.
There is no denying that resident doctors have had a strong argument for going to strike in the past, having come across an obdurate Tory government unwilling to negotiate in a meaningful way.
However, the current Labour administration has shown it is willing to come to the table. Even successfully striking a pay agreement in 2024 with resident doctors.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has now given the resident doctors committee of the British Medical Association (BMA) a 48-hour deadline to reconsider the offer, which would have seen medics given a pay rise of 35 per cent over three years.
Rejecting such a high figure puts resident doctors at risk of losing public support, just when they need to keep them on side.
There are few sectors where people would not be happy with a 35 per cent pay rise over three years. Even factoring in the conditions that resident doctors have had to face in recent years, that is a generous amount. Especially when it is stacked against the current economic backdrop. Rejecting the offer makes them look like they are out of touch.
A failure to agree to the pay deal would also see the offer to expand training places taken off the table. There will be no winners from resident doctors going on strike again. But it will be the patients who once again suffer the most. That is why medics should accept the pay deal with the caveat that they’ve done so reluctantly.