A Government minister has urged junior doctors to back down as they strike for a second day despite being made a 6% “final” offer on pay.
The British Medical Association (BMA) warned the Government that “doctors are in this for the long run” as it refused to call off industrial action after the Prime Minister accepted the recommendations of independent pay review bodies.
Rishi Sunak called for the BMA to avoid further disruption as he announced salary increases for public sector workers of up to 7%, with the deal for teachers looking set to end that industrial dispute.
Pressure on doctors grew on Friday as Education Secretary Gillian Keegan echoed Mr Sunak’s call, criticising their starting position for negotiations of a 35% pay rise as “unreasonable”.
She told LBC Radio: “We all understand there’s been inflation and there’s been a huge spike in inflation.
“And that’s impacting all of us.
“That’s why the main goal is to halve inflation. You can’t chase it.
“I would urge them to take the same approach as everybody else actually.”
The Tory MP also said it is “only fair” the union looks at the pay offer and takes it “seriously”.
Junior doctors are “not exceptional in having inflationary pressures”, she told Sky News.
I do believe that doctors are in this for the long run because we are seeing so much harm come to patients every day because of the underfunding of the NHS— BMA's Professor Philip Banfield
But they are digging into the wage dispute, taking to picket lines on Friday as their longest walkout yet in England enters the second of five days.
Professor Philip Banfield, BMA council chairman, on Thursday said the chances of further strikes are “very high”.
He told LBC: “So I don’t believe that this is all over. I do believe that doctors are in this for the long run because we are seeing so much harm come to patients every day because of the underfunding of the NHS.”
Mr Sunak insisted that the pay awards are “final” offers to public sector workers who are striking.
He is offering junior doctors 6% rises, along with an additional consolidated £1,250 increase.
Hospital consultants, set to strike in England next week, will receive a 6% rise.
Downing Street on Friday reiterated that there will not be further negotiations.
“We would hope that junior doctors and consultants — on around £120,000 a year — will look at the offer again today and speak to their unions and consider whether it is appropriate for it to keep disrupting patient care in the way they are doing, in light of junior doctors on average (being offered an) 8.8% pay increase and consultants a 6% pay increase,” Mr Sunak’s official spokesman told reporters.
“We are more than happy to talk about wider workforce issues but we won’t be having further talks on pay.”
The current level of CPI inflation is running at 8.7% and Mr Sunak, who has promised to cut it to around 5.3% by the end of the year, wants to avoid pay increases which could fuel a wage-price spiral.
With no new borrowing to fund the deals, Mr Sunak said Government departments will have to “reprioritise” spending – raising fears of cuts across public services.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, warned that funding staff out of existing budgets would jeopardise patient services as well as the Prime Minister’s pledge to reduce waiting lists.
The Government set out some changes to raise around £1 billion of additional money to fund the rises, including increasing the immigrant NHS surcharge and the cost of work and visit visas.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said the fee hikes are not expected to “impact on recruitment or filling positions”.
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.
Ms Keegan said the process of ensuring the pay cost could be covered without impacting frontline teaching budgets had been “tricky” and “hard”.
The Government will honour the teachers’ wage increase into the long term, the Education Secretary said.
