Senior doctors in England to vote on improved pay offer

LONDON: Senior doctors in England will soon vote on an improved pay offer, which could end months of disruptive strike action, their trade union said on Tuesday, after they narrowly rejected a previous offer from the government in January.

The new pay offer includes a 2.85 percent uplift for those who have been senior doctors for four to seven years, and brings changes to a pay review body in terms of its remit and how it will appoint members said the British Medical Association (BMA), recommending that its members vote to accept the offer.

“In our talks with government we now feel we’ve made enough progress on these issues to go back to the membership and recommend they vote to accept the offer, and in doing so end the current pay dispute and prevent further industrial action,” BMA consultants committee chair Vishal Sharma said.

Senior doctors, known as consultants, will vote on the new offer from March 14-April 3.

Strikes by doctors have heaped more pressure on an already overburdened National Health Service (NHS), where millions of patients are on waiting lists seeking treatment, leading to thousands of cancelled appointments and procedures.

A separate pay dispute remains ongoing among junior doctors, who took strike action for five straight days last month.