unior doctors will continue with strike action despite Rishi Sunak saying a six per cent pay deal was the “final offer”, a union has said.
The Prime Minister announced his deal on the day hospital staff who are part of the British Medical Association began the longest walkout in NHS history which will have a “devastating impact” on patients.
Sunak challenged unions to “know when to say yes” after he accepted the recommendations of independent pay review bodies.
Junior doctors – on a five-day strike across London and other parts of the England since 7am on Thursday – will receive six per cent rises, along with an additional consolidated £1,250 increase.
Hospital consultants, walking out for 48 hours next week, are getting a six per cent rise.
But BMA chairman of council Professor Phil Banfield said: “This Government is driving doctors away from the NHS and this country; it needs to wake up and realise the true cost of keeping the expertise of doctors.
“Today, it missed a huge opportunity to put a credible proposal on the table to end strikes.
“This uplift still fails tens of thousands of frontline staff and is unlikely to do much to help retain a beleaguered, burnt out, undervalued workforce.”
British Medical Association members strike at St Thomas’ Hospital, London
/ Lucy North/PA WireDoctors are digging in in their pay dispute as teaching unions suggested a 6.5 per cent offer for teachers would signal an end to schools strikes.
Prof Banfield said consultants “remain willing to talk” but the offer means “they are likely to continue to take industrial action”.
It was also “highly likely” that other kinds of doctors represented by the BMA, GPs and specialty doctors, “will consider their next steps”.
Previously BMA leaders said they are seeking “a credible offer, or an agreement on the principle of Full Pay Restoration”.
Junior doctors had set their starting position for negotiations as a 35 per cent pay rise to restore wages to 2008 levels.
At a Downing Street press conference Mr Sunak called on the BMA to help “make the NHS strong again” and avoid further disruption.
“The Government has not only made today’s decision on pay,” he said.
“We’ve backed the NHS with record funding, delivered the first ever, fully funded long-term workforce plan and met the BMA’s number one ask of Government, with a pensions tax cut worth £1 billion.
“So, we should all ask ourselves, whether union leaders, or indeed political leaders, how can it be right to continue disruptive industrial action?
“Not least because these strikes lead to tens of thousands of appointments being cancelled, every single day and waiting lists going up, not down.”
There had been speculation the Government could reject the various pay review bodies’ recommendations because ministers been anxious to avoid deals which could entrench high inflation.
The current level of CPI inflation is running at 8.7 per cent and Mr Sunak, who has promised to cut it to around 5.3 per cent by the end of the year, wants to avoid pay increases which could fuel a wage-price spiral.
In a direct message to the public sector unions, Sunak said the pay on offer was as far as he would go, adding: “Today’s offer is final. There will be no more talks on pay.
“We will not negotiate again on this year’s settlements and no amount of strikes will change our decision.”
NHS trusts will ‘hardly have time to draw breath’ between upcoming strikes by junior doctors, consultants and radiographers, NHS Providers has said (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
/ PA WireBut with no new borrowing to fund deals, Sunak said government departments will have to “reprioritise” spending – raising fears of cuts across public services.
The deals, based on the recommendations of the independent review bodies, include a seven per cent rise for police officers.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: “Rishi Sunak is taking a wrecking ball to our public services with these savage cuts.
“He must come clean about the devastating impact this will have on local hospitals and schools across the country.”
Police Federation national chairman Steve Hartshorn said the seven per cent rise was “a step in the right direction” but “we must not lose sight of the fact that this uplift still fails to take account of the real term cut of 17 per cent officers have suffered since 2000”.
Mr Sunak said government departments will have to “reprioritise” spending – raising fears of cuts across public services.
The deals, based on the recommendations of the independent review bodies, include:
– Prison officers in the operational bands receiving an increase of 7%, with larger rises for support grades and 5% for managers and governors.
– Most armed forces personnel receiving a 5% rise, plus an additional consolidated £1,000 increase, with 5.5% awards for the most senior officers.
– Senior civil servants receiving a 5.5% rise.
The 6.5% pay award for teachers will be “fully funded”, the Government said, with £525 million of additional money for schools in 2023-24 and a further £900 million in 2024-25.
The Government set out some changes to raise around £1 billion of additional money to fund the rises, including increasing the immigrant health surcharge to £1,035 and hiking the cost of some visas.
But the bulk of the money will have to come from “savings and efficiences” in existing budgets.
