Wes Streeting today suggested striking doctors could secure higher pay if they agreed to slash their “gold-plated” pensions, as he launched a blistering attack on plans for a five-day walkout later this month.
The Health Secretary put the controversial option on the table whilst condemning as “unreasonable” and “tragic” the British Medical Association’s decision to stage industrial action from 7am on July 25 to 7am on July 30.
Making a statement in the Commons, Mr Streeting warned the strikes would wreck efforts to clear waiting lists and stressed that resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – had already enjoyed the highest public sector pay settlements for two consecutive years.
Record Pay Awards Dismissed
The BMA announced earlier this week that more than 26,000 resident doctors in England and Wales had voted for industrial action, with fewer than 3,000 opposing it. Despite being awarded a 5.4% increase this year on top of last year’s 22% rise, the union continues to demand an eye-watering 29.2% uplift to achieve what it calls “full pay restoration.
Five days of strike action means patients and their families receiving the phone call they are currently dreading of being told that the operation or appointment they’ve been waiting for, often for far too long, is being cancelled and delayed,” Mr Streeting told MPs.
“I know how I’d feel if this happened to a member of my family currently waiting and I asked them to consider how they would feel if it happened to a member of theirs.”
The Health Secretary emphasised that resident doctors have now received a cumulative 28.9% pay increase over the past three years, with average full-time basic pay expected to reach approximately £54,300 in 2025-26. The starting salary for a newly qualified doctor has risen by £9,500 over three years to around £38,800.
Pension Trade-Off Proposal
In a striking intervention during an LBC radio interview, Mr Streeting suggested he would be open to “discussion” about restructuring the relationship between NHS pension benefits and take-home pay – a move that could prove controversial within the medical profession.
We’ve got this situation where the pension pot, by the time people become consultants, is so big that consultants lobby us to change the tax rules, because they’re taxed so heavily on the pensions because they’re that valuable that they’re like, ‘oh, I might as well not bother working. My pension’s so valuable,'” the Health Secretary said.
“Now, if the BMA want to come to me and say, you know what? Given that challenge, we think we would rather have a slightly less generous pension in order to have higher pay today… those are the sorts of issues you can get into in a discussion.”
NHS Pension Benefits Under Scrutiny
NHS employer pension contributions currently stand at 23.7% of pensionable pay – vastly higher than the 3-5% typically offered in the private sector. This exceptionally generous benefit, combined with inflation-proof and final salary-linked provisions, represents a significant portion of total remuneration that critics argue is often overlooked in pay disputes.
Mr Streeting added pointedly: “But I’ve offered to talk. They haven’t taken me up. And that’s one of the many reasons I think this is unreasonable.”
Public Finances “Not Awash with Cash”
The Health Secretary firmly ruled out renegotiating this year’s pay award, warning it would be “deeply unfair” to other public servants and “unaffordable” given the state of public finances inherited by the Labour government.
“Renegotiating this year’s pay award would be deeply unfair to all other public servants. Such a deal would be paid for by their future earnings and with the greatest respect to resident doctors, there are people working in our public services who are feeling the pinch more than they are,” he said.
“Even if it wouldn’t be unfair on public sector workers, it is unaffordable. It should be apparent to anyone that the public finances this Government inherited are not awash with cash.
Other NHS Staff “Picking Up the Pieces”
Mr Streeting drew a stark contrast between striking doctors and other NHS workers who would be “inside picking up the pieces and working in harder conditions to cover for the consequences” of the walkout.
This sentiment was echoed by a Number 10 spokesman who confirmed: “We aren’t going to reopen negotiations on pay. Resident doctors have received the highest pay award across the public sector for two years in a row, and we’ve been clear that we can’t be more generous than we already have this year.
Nurses Also Considering Action
Adding to the government’s concerns, nurses are also balloting on strike action, raising the prospect of coordinated disruption across the health service. The potential for simultaneous industrial action by multiple healthcare professions threatens to create unprecedented challenges for patient care.
Public opinion has shifted dramatically since previous disputes. A YouGov survey of 4,100 adults this week showed that nearly half oppose resident doctors going on strike (48%), compared to just 39% who support it – a significant reversal from 2024 when 52% backed strike action.
BMA Remains Defiant
Despite the government’s firm stance, BMA resident doctors committee co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt insisted they had “made every attempt to avoid strike action” but claimed the government “will not negotiate on pay.
“Doctors have spoken and spoken clearly: they won’t accept that they are worth a fifth less than they were in 2008. Our pay may have declined but our will to fight remains strong,” they said in a statement.
The union leaders added: “He needs to come forward as soon as possible with a credible path to pay restoration.”
Historical Impact
Since 2022, resident doctors have gone on strike 11 times, leading to almost 1.5 million appointments being cancelled or rescheduled – a devastating impact on patients already facing record waiting lists.
The BMA’s demand for a 29.2% uplift is based on Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation, arguing that real-terms pay has fallen by 21% over the past 17 years. However, the government maintains that such demands are simply unaffordable given current economic constraints.
Political Implications
The confrontation represents a significant test for the Labour government, which came to power partly on promises to end the cycle of NHS strikes that plagued the final years of Conservative rule. Having successfully resolved several disputes shortly after taking office, ministers now face the prospect of renewed industrial warfare.
Labour MP Andrew Pakes expressed confidence that Mr Streeting could “get a deal done”, telling GB News: “The best way to resolve that is to work with the Government. We’re all in this to try and make life better for patients.”
However, Shadow Science Minister Alan Mak warned: “We can’t have a situation where the Government caves into the unions but asks for nothing in return, no conditions, no productivity improvements, and no sensible negotiation.
As the July 25 deadline approaches, both sides appear entrenched in their positions. Mr Streeting’s pension proposal represents a potential avenue for compromise, but whether the BMA will engage with such radical restructuring remains to be seen.
With public patience wearing thin and waiting lists still at crisis levels, the stakes could hardly be higher for both the government and the medical profession.
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Image Credit:
Wes Streeting Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) – Photo by UK Government, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
