Labour junior doctors pay deal leaves them worse off than physician associates

The Labour Party government has struck a deal with NHS junior doctors’ leaders. It’s offering a supposed 22.3% pay rise over the next two years between 2023 to 2025. Predictably, it has meant the Labour Starmerites have been out in force on social media piling on praise to health secretary Wes Streeting.

However, the only thing more nauseatingly galling than a weasely Wes praise-fest is the deal itself. That’s because, in reality, it still leaves junior doctors with a real-terms pay cut. More shockingly still, they’ll be worse off than physician associates (PAs) – the staff without full medical qualifications at the centre of growing controversy.

Labour junior doctors new pay deal

On Monday 29 July, mainstream media outlets begun reporting that the government had negotiated a pay deal with the British Medical Association’s (BMA) junior doctors committee.

Specifically, the government has put a 22.3% pay deal on the table for the next two years – which the BMA trade union accepted. This was almost 13% shy of the junior doctors’ original demand for a 35% pay rise. The BMA will now put this deal to its members.

Previously, under Sunak, the Tories had refused to budge on its pitiful 8.8% pay offer. It was why, just days ahead of the election, junior doctors once again held a round of strikes. Since they started in March 2023, junior doctors have engaged in 44 days of industrial action.

As a result, many were hailing Labour – and particularly new health secretary Streeting – for closing discussions so soon after taking charge:

BREAKING/

Amazing news that finally a government has responded fairly to the 25% real terms pay decrease inflicted on junior doctors over the last 14 years.@wesstreeting said he would make this a priority – and he did.

A man of his word as health secretary – how wonderful 🩺 pic.twitter.com/2MWJuGr3Vx

— Dr Rachel Clarke (@doctor_oxford) July 29, 2024

Wow! Three weeks in office and Labour are already delivering on some of the big challenges. Well done @wesstreeting, much more to do but this is a great start 👏🏻

Actions not words #Change https://t.co/TiuiGgwImv

— Kathryn de Prudhoe 🌹💙😷💉🇪🇺 (@de_prudhoe) July 29, 2024

Junior doctors in England are expected to be offered a 22% pay rise over two years in order to end strike action over pay.

This is big news.

https://t.co/pUeAlfJBId

— Supertanskiii (@supertanskiii) July 29, 2024

But it’s a real-terms pay cut

However, the reality is, the new deal actually still constitutes a real-terms pay cut. This is because junior doctors have seen a 26% fall in their real-terms wages since 2008 due to repeated governments’ failure to keep them in line with inflation. So, the 22.3% so-called pay rise doesn’t even bring junior doctors back to where they were over 15 years ago.

Given this, many junior doctors were declaring their opposition to the deal on X:

It’s a no from me.

No less than FPR, strike on🦀 https://t.co/BLSCM5ILjS

— سهى (@svha_abdl) July 29, 2024

22% overall pay rise is great but not enough on its own.

A commitment to full pay restoration (35%) which also takes into consideration any further inflation since the dispute began needs to be included if the government want to end doctor dissatisfaction as well as the… https://t.co/7HQOVvjAO0

— Abdul-Rahman (@asabbas98) July 29, 2024

Worse still, the deal also included the pay increase the Tories had already committed to:

It’s important to remember the quoted 20% figure includes the pay increase given to us by the tories.

Without commitment to FPR, I’ll be voting no to this offer.

Any deal that leaves an F1 being paid less than their assistant is unacceptable https://t.co/WHU6L1Qh0p

— Tim Ricketts (@timricketts_) July 29, 2024

So as one poster pointed out, this means that junior doctors would only get a 4% pay rise for this year:

So extremely disappointing. This is including the 10% already awarded and amounts to only 4% this year. No commitment to FPR. Very sorry to have got my hopes up with @TheBMA https://t.co/jgMDGYtcwD

— Josh (@JoshGahir) July 29, 2024

Because, in reality, the 22% comprises of:

• A 4% backdated pay increase for 2023-24.
• The existing 9% increase that the Tories promised.
• 6% more on top of that for 2024-25.
• A £1,000 fixed payment.

In other words, the deal isn’t really offering that much more than the previous government. Crucially, it’s a far cry from what the doctors ordered.

Physicians associates will earn more

Another doctor on X set out how the deal could mean that if rates reflect anything like that in recent years of the Tories class war-driven cost of living crisis, junior doctor pay may only just keep pace with inflation next year:

A day 1 PA will still be earning substantially more than an F1.

Best deal for most junior doctors?

Try again. If inflation is 8% for example next year we will have only just kept up with inflation and done nothing to correct the years of erosion.

I went on strike because i… https://t.co/xC2VrRKL0l

— Eilidh 🦀 (@DrEilidhMaria) July 29, 2024

If that wasn’t bad enough, new physician associates will be on a higher wage than newly qualified junior doctors:

While a day 1 Doctor earns less than a day 1 Physician Associate all Doctors should vote no

The government have set the rate they think your Assistants should be paid. Naturally a fully qualified Doctor should be paid more https://t.co/UcesCGvP4a

— ExplosiveEnema (@ExplosiveEnema2) July 29, 2024

This abysmal offer means that junior doctors will still earn > £8k a year less than their assistants. The membership must not accept it – fight for what you are worth! https://t.co/cV6sUOEyAe

— Josh Soane (@JoshuaSoane) July 29, 2024

Despite its claims otherwise, Labour could afford to meet junior doctors’ demand for full pay restoration and a pay rise. But much as Reeves’ announcement of a new wave of austerity, it’s a political choice. And naturally, these are to the benefit of its private sector backers.

Where the NHS is concerned, the new government will sell off properties, and continue its march to privatisation.

At the end of the day, the deal isn’t Labour meeting junior doctor demands. Instead, it’s a quick win PR exercise for the new government. Proof in the publicity stunt pudding? As one poster raised, the fact the government leaked it to the press before the BMA communicated the news to its members:

Pretty weak offer not gonna lie.

Also strikes me as being quite shameful on behalf of Labour to leak this to the press before BMA can release details to its members.

Where’s the commitment to FPR? If there’s none, I’m voting no. Our demands are clear.

Pay restoration only. https://t.co/Rs6NimaojB

— Balazs (@cannula_service) July 29, 2024

Ultimately, Labour is putting private sector profit against the public sector pay rises. But to anyone whose been paying attention, this should come as no surprise. The new Labour government is showing once again that there isn’t a fag paper between it and the Tories – on workers’ rights this is already glaringly obvious.

Feature image via the Canary