Doctors union says above-inflation pay rises aren’t enough as they threaten strike action

Doctors are threatening strike action after being given an above-inflation 4 per cent pay increase, claiming that it does not go far enough in restoring historical pay freezes.

Ministers announced the increases after the latest review of the public sector pay, with other NHS workers such as nurses, midwives and physiotherapists receiving a 3.6 per cent increase.

Teachers have also threatened to “register a dispute” over their 4 per cent increase, which will only partly be covered by the Labour government, with the rest to be covered by existing school budgets.

An additional £615 million of funding will be provided to schools this financial year to help them with the costs of pay awards for staff, she added, roughly equivalent to three-quarters of the pay rise.

Schools will be required to fund the remaining quarter of the pay rise through “improved productivity and smarter spending”, according to the Education Secretary.

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said in many schools this would result in “cuts in service provision to children and young people, job losses, and additional workloads for an already overstretched profession”.

He added: “Unless the government commits to fully funding the pay rise then it is likely that the NEU will register a dispute with the Government on the issue of funding, and campaign to ensure every parent understands the impact of a cut in the money available to schools, and that every politician understands this too.”

The increases, recommended by independent pay review bodies, are above the rate of inflation, which jumped to 3.5 per cent in April, up from 2.6 per cent in March and the highest since January 2024.

NHS staff in Wales are also likely to be given the same pay award, as the Welsh Government has accepted the same recommendations.

Professor Philip Banfield, the BMA’s chairman of council, warned it was already considering strike action, as the union believes the pay rise does not do enough to restore doctors’ pay after previous salary freezes.

“Doctors’ pay is still around a quarter less than it was in real terms 16 years ago and today’s ‘award’ delays pay restoration even more, without a Government plan or reassurance to correct this erosion of what a doctor is worth,” he said.

Meanwhile, NHS staff who are members of the Royal College of Nursing and GMB union will be voting on whether to accept the increase, arguing that it is “entirely swallowed up by inflation”.

Elsewhere, most members of the armed forces will be given a 4.5 per cent pay rise, according to Defence Secretary John Healey, while senior members of the military will receive a 3.75 per cent rise.

Senior civil servants will get a 3.25 per cent pay rise, according to the Cabinet Office, but ministers plan to defer rolling out new pay bands as part of a review of salaries among the upper echelons of the Civil Service.

Prison officers and managers are also set to get a 4 per cent pay rise, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said.

Judicial office holders, a group which includes judges, will also get a 4 per cent pay rise, after Ms Mahmood rejected a recommendation their pay should rise by 4.75 per cent.