A year ago (13-16 March 2023) junior doctors in England began strike action, calling for a 35% pay increase over time to restore their pay to 2008 levels.
Twelve months on, resolution of the dispute seems no nearer. Junior doctors in England recently staged their tenth round of industrial action1 and there is no fresh pay offer from the government on the table. For 2023-24 junior doctors received what the government called a “final offer” of 8.8%,2 which was not sufficient to bring an end to the action.
In the meantime, industrial unrest has spread. In England, consultants joined their junior colleagues in strike action last summer, although that dispute is much closer to ending after an improved pay offer from the government.3 Specialist, associate specialist, and specialty (SAS) doctors in England have also voted to strike after rejecting a pay offer.4 In Wales and Northern Ireland, junior doctors have begun strikes, and consultants and SAS doctors look set to follow.3 (See box)
Only in Scotland have hospital doctors remained at work. There, junior doctors accepted a pay deal of 12.4%, which also came with a commitment from the Scottish government to work towards pay restoration and reform of the pay review process.5
What did Scotland do right?
In an interview with The BMJ, Vivek Trivedi and Robert Laurenson, co-chairs of the BMA Junior Doctors Committee in England, said the Scottish government engaged with junior doctors early and listened in a way that hasn’t happened south of the border.
“I wish we could have had a situation like in Scotland where they were able to achieve a deal without striking,” Trivedi said. “Our …