Doctors in England call off strikes after last-minute offer in long-running dispute
LONDON: Resident doctors in England have called off strikes that were due to start next week after a last-minute government offer, their unions said on Saturday, raising the prospect of ending a long-running pay and staffing dispute. The walkout had been scheduled to run from Monday to Friday. It would have been the 16th in a series of stoppages since 2023 over what the union called years of pay erosion and staffing pressures across the National Health Service. The dispute began under the previous Conservative government. The British Medical Union said it would hold a referendum on the offer and suspend strike action while the vote takes place. It represents about 55,000 of England’s roughly 75,000 resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors. “We have always been clear that no strikes needed to go ahead if we received an offer appropriate to put to our members,” committee chair Jack Fletcher said, adding that doctors would judge the proposal on whether it tackles pay erosion and workforce concerns, including unemployment among trainees. Fletcher said doctors would vote on the offer. If they reject it, he warned, the union would move ahead with plans for strike action next month.
