Resident doctors end strikes after agreeing pay and jobs deal

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British Medical Association members have voted to accept a new deal on pay and jobs for resident doctors, ending three years of strikes. It includes a pay rise of 3.5% this year, increasing to 6.6% in 2027. This brings starting salaries to just over £40,000, while more senior resident doctors will get a basic pay package of £76,500. The government has also agreed to create up to 4,500 additional training places. This will ease bottlenecks that mean doctors in some specialities must wait for years for jobs to become available before proceeding to the next stage of their careers. The strikes first erupted under the Conservatives and ending them was a key Labour priority. But a one-off salary boost of 22% given by Wes Streeting in 2024 failed to appease the BMA, which staged 21 days of walkouts in the last year. These cost the NHS £1bn.