The leaders of the young doctors will stop the strikes and enter into salary negotiations

The leaders of the young doctors have become the latest union to agree to call off the strike and accept an offer of wage negotiations with the government.

The Department of Health and Social Care said the British Medical Association had agreed to start negotiations on the same terms as unions representing nurses, ambulance staff and other NHS workers in talks that concluded this week.

“We are deeply sorry that more than 175,000 appointments and procedures have been canceled this week, despite our offer to start formal talks on the condition that the strikes stop,” a DHSC spokesperson said.

“However, we are pleased that the BMA has accepted our offer to start talks on the same terms as the trade union agenda for change, which concluded positively this week.

“We want to find a fair deal that recognizes the crucial role of young doctors and the broader economic pressures facing the UK, as we have done with other unions.”

The move follows a three-day strike by young doctors in support of their demand for a 35% pay rise, a claim ministers have said is unaffordable.

In a statement posted on social media, representatives of the BMA’s junior doctors confirmed that they had written to Health Secretary Steve Barclay offering to meet next week.

Today we have written to the Secretary of Health, Steve Barclay, to agree on the dates on which the negotiations will take place. We are entering these negotiations in good faith and, having completed our initial 72 hour strike, here is a window of opportunity where we can… (2/7)
— Junior Doctors (@BMA_JuniorDocs) March 17, 2023

They acknowledged that some members would have “reservations” about suspending the industrial action, but said they were ready to return to the picket line in the event of a “poor offer.”

They wrote: “We are entering these negotiations in good faith and, having completed our initial 72-hour strike, here is a window of opportunity in which we can achieve full wage restoration.

“This has always been our goal, and we will always be willing to talk anywhere and for any reason that does not prevent us from achieving this goal.”

It follows progress in the NHS dispute on Thursday, with leaders of nurses, ambulance teams and other health workers agreeing to suspend further industrial action while votes are taken on a new wage offer.

Earlier, England’s NHS chief medical officer, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said the doctors’ strike had been “unprecedented in scale and had a greater impact than all other industrial actions we have seen so far this winter combined.”

“Despite the enormous efforts by NHS staff to keep patients safe and minimize disruption, this strike was on an unprecedented scale and had a greater impact than all other industrial actions we have seen so far this winter combined. “, said.

“More than 175,000 appointments and procedures have been rescheduled to protect emergency, critical and urgent care for patients, which will inevitably have an impact on efforts to address the COVID backlog.”

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