Resident doctors in Scotland have called off strike action after accepting a revised pay offer from the government.
Health Secretary Neil Gray announced that the government had reached a settlement with the British Medical Association after months of negotiations.
The BMA has confirmed that its members have accepted pay rises of 4.25% in 2025/26 and 3.75% in 2026/27.
The agreement also features a separate package of contractual reform with a combined investment of £133 million.
Gray said: “I am pleased that we have reached an agreement with Resident Doctors over pay and contractual reform.
“I’m grateful to the BMA for the intensive and constructive talks we held to reach this agreement and for confirmation that any threat of industrial action is now fully lifted, avoiding any cancelled operations or disruption to care.
“The combined offer will see the same pay deal which nurses and NHS support staff agreed.
“It also includes additional investment in contractual reform over the same period, providing a total combined investment of £133 million over this time, underlining our commitment to the 2023 pay and contract reform agreement.
According to Dr Chris Smith, chair of the BMA Scottish Resident Doctors Committee, the revised pay offer was backed overwhelmingly, with 97.1% of members voting yes on a turnout of 62.4%.
Smith said: “The deal negotiated by the Scottish Resident Doctors Committee (SRDC) will move all resident doctors in Scotland up the pay scale and is the equivalent of an average end-of-year pay uplift for 2025/26 of 9.9% and for 2026/27 of 9.4%.
“We will use this vote of confidence to continue our work to make the voices of resident doctors across Scotland heard, including concluding the resident doctor contract negotiations that started in 2023.
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The BMA official said that the £149m pay deal was a “welcome substantial investment”.
He added: “However there remains much more work to be done to address issues affecting resident doctors in Scotland, to secure their future - and the future of the NHS.”
As a result of the agreement, planned strike action, which had been postponed by the union in January, will now be cancelled.
Gray added: “With Scotland remaining the only part of the UK to avoid pay-related strike action in the NHS, I am now determined that we will continue to make progress in cutting waiting times and ensuring people get quality care.”
