Government and British Medical Association set to resume talks on new junior doctors' contracts

Talks: The BMA and Government are set to begin negotiating again
Andrew Matthews / PA Wire
Laura Proto5 May 2016

Talks between the Government and the British Medical Association (BMA) over the new junior doctors' contract look set to go ahead after months of wrangling.

Both sides have agreed to begin negotiating again after previous talks were unable to reach a resolution and strike action was later carried out.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the Department of Health was willing to hear what the doctors have to say and would pause the introduction of a new contract for five days of talks.

But he said that negotiations should not proceed unless the department has "written agreement" from the Junior Doctors' Committee (JDC) to negotiate "substantively and in good faith" on the biggest outstanding area in the disagreement - unsocial hours and Saturday pay.

He has also requested that they would "ratify and recommend any negotiated agreement to their members".

During an interview with Sky News, Mr Hunt said: "I hope the BMA will take up the offer to talk constructively and we're seeking assurances by close of the day on Saturday that the BMA will negotiate constructively on the outstanding issues."

The Department of Health confirmed they are still waiting for those assurances from the BMA.

All out: striking junior doctors on the picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital
Lucy Young

Dr Johann Malawana, the BMA's JDC chairman, said they are keen to restart talks with an "open mind".

A BMA spokeswoman added: "Junior doctors have said since the outset that they want to reach a negotiated agreement, and have repeatedly urged the Government to re-enter talks.

"The BMA has agreed to temporarily suspend further industrial action so that talks can resume.

"It is critical to find a way forward on all the outstanding issues - which are more than just pay - and we hope that a new offer is made that can break the impasse."

Last week junior doctors went on an all-out strike for two working days. For the first time in the history of the NHS, junior doctors in England stopped providing emergency care during the walkouts.

The Government is intent on introducing a new contract for doctors working up to consultant level to replace one it says is outdated.

Mr Hunt wants to cut the number of hours over a weekend for which junior doctors can claim extra pay, while offsetting this with a hike in basic pay.

This has proved a major sticking point in the row with the BMA - whether Saturdays should attract extra "unsocial" payments.

Currently, 7pm to 7am Monday to Friday and the whole of Saturday and Sunday attract a premium rate of pay for junior doctors.

The imposed contract, due to come into force in August, has an increase in basic salary of 13.5% but 7am to 5pm on Saturdays will be regarded as a normal working day.

There will still be premium rates for Saturday evenings and all of Sunday.

Additional reporting by Press Association.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in