The Welsh Government has made a formal pay offer to junior doctors in a bid to stop strikes.

The offer, which came after successful negotiations over the last two months, was presented to three sections of the British Medical Association (BMA) - junior doctors, SAS doctors, and consultants.

First Minister Vaughan Gething MS and Eluned Morgan MS, cabinet secretary for health and social care, announced that the formal pay award offers for 2023-24 are currently up for consideration by the BMA members.

If accepted, these offers could bring an end to the ongoing industrial action, with doctors returning to work. At present, the strike action has been paused.

The negotiations aimed at preventing further strikes, resolving the pay dispute, and achieving future contract reform.

The pay awards were hailed as a balanced compromise between the additional investment in doctors’ pay and operational reforms focusing on productivity, efficiency, and fairness in the senior NHS medical workforce.

Junior doctors stand to receive a 12.4 per cent pay increase, backdated to April 1, 2023.

This includes an earlier 5 per cent pay lift for 2023-24.

Significantly, the offer matches the pay award accepted by their Scottish counterparts and is outside the Doctor and Dentists Review Body (DDRB) recommendation.

The acceptance of the offer would trigger the start of contract negotiations seeking to implement changes starting 2025-26.

For consultants, the Welsh Government and the BMA Welsh consultant committee agreed to revamp the current pay structure, which has remained unchanged for more than 20 years.

The proposed modern pay structure aims to strengthen recruitment and retention, reward performance more effectively, address the gender pay gap and support progression throughout consultants' careers.

Upon agreement, the new structure will be backdated to January 1, 2024.

The BMA rate card will be withdrawn on both local and national scales in Wales if the offers are accepted.

Job planning policy for all of Wales and an NHS Wales recruitment template for new consultants are set to be launched and implemented during 2024-25.

SAS doctors, who previously accepted a multi-year pay deal, will see the offer address the imbalances in the pay scale for doctors under the 2021 contract and the 2008 contract.

This is aimed at encouraging more doctors to welcome the new contracts, which present modernised employment terms and conditions.

On the subject of pay for Associate Specialists on the 2008 Contract, the offer proposes an additional 4 per cent uplift on the 2022-23 pay scales, giving a total of 9 per cent for 2023-24, backdated to January 1, 2024.

Complete details of all pay offers will be communicated through BMA Wales to their members.

The Welsh Government is encouraging doctors with questions about the offer to speak to their BMA representatives.