London: Senior doctors in England have narrowly voted to reject a pay deal which would have ended months of disruptive strike action, their trade union, the British Medical Association (BMA), said on Thursday in a blow to the government.
The agreement sought to reform the pay structure for senior doctors, known as consultants, reducing the number of pay brackets and the time it takes to reach the top and making a clearer link between pay progression and experience-.
The doctors, also known as consultants, voted 51.1% against the pay offer, the BMA said.
"The vote has shown that consultants do not feel the current offer goes far enough to end the current dispute and offer a long-term solution to the recruitment and retention crisis for senior doctors," BMA consultants committee chair Vishal Sharma said.
"However, with the result so close, the consultants committee is giving the Government a chance to improve the offer." A separate long-running dispute with junior doctors over pay also remains ongoing.
