Doctors strike called off in Scotland as union backs latest pay deal

Scotland’s resident doctors have called off a planned four-day strike over pay.

They had been set to go on the first national walkout staged by NHS workers on Tuesday, having accused ministers of going back on promises over pay.

But after further negotiations, the British Medical Association union is to suspend the strike and put a fresh pay offer to members – and is recommending that it is accepted.

Health secretary Neil Gray said it was “great news” which would avoid disruption to patient care.

Resident doctors – who used to be called junior doctors – make up about 42% of all Scotland’s doctors and range from newly qualified doctors to those with 10 years or more experience.

Members will now consider an offer of a 4.25% pay rise in 2025-26, followed by a 3.75% increase in 2026-27.

The pay deal offered by the Scottish government matches one already accepted by nurses and other healthcare staff, and was previously rejected by the BMA last year.

However it now comes alongside a separate package of contractual reform.

The offer would see the basic pay for a newly qualified doctor rise from £34,500 to £37,345 for 2026/27 and for a doctor with 10 years experience rise from £71,549 to £77,387.

Gray said the deal had been struck following “days of intensive and constructive talks” between the government and the union.

He added that total investment in the offer – covering both pay and contract reform over the two-year period – will be £133m.

He said: “This avoids the cancelled operations and disruption to patient care that no one, including resident doctors, wanted to see.”

Dr Chris Smith, who chairs BMA Scotland’s resident doctors committee, said strike action had been a “last resort” for the union, and that the new offer would guarantee future improvements for staff.

He said: “Our view is the substantial investment proposed continues the progress made to reverse the pay erosion resident doctors have suffered since 2008.

“Coming in the shape of new funding into our contract means that if accepted, this deal embeds improvements for doctors for the future.

“It will provide much needed impetus into delivering a new contract for resident doctors that was a key part of the deal agreed with the Scottish Government in 2023.”

Smith added that the deal would make “real progress” towards righting the “historic wrong” of pay erosion for staff over the past two decades.

The BMA previously said the deal would have been the lowest in the UK and was less than was recommended by the independent pay review body.

However, Smith told BBC Scotland’s Lunchtime Live that the contractual reform package would now bring in additional investment into pay scales for resident doctors, therefore putting more money into doctors pockets.

He added: “There has been a lot of compromise, but this gets back to the principles of the 2023 deal that had been working for the NHS, for doctors and for patients.”

Scotland has been the only part of the UK to have avoided strike action by NHS workers.

A previous proposed strike in Scotland in the summer of 2023 was called off at the last minute after a deal was agreed.

A deal was really in everyone’s interest here – not least that of patients, who will now avoid any disruption to care.

Doctors really didn’t want to go on strike, having talked of industrial action as a last resort.

And the Scottish government is setting out its draft budget next Tuesday. Ministers really didn’t want to do that with NHS staff picketing outside the parliament.

So after intensive talks over the Christmas period, a deal has been thrashed out, which seems to chiefly revolve around the sweetener of contract reform.

It means an additional £130m investment in staff – a not inconsiderable sum when the government is trying to wrestle the public sector pay bill under control.

But the NHS is a top priority for politicians as well as patients, and next week’s budget will doubtless see further investment in key health services.