Business
Resident doctors to vote on strike action in pay row with Scottish Government
Resident doctors in Scotland are set to be balloted on industrial action after a union accused the Scottish Government of “going back” on a pay agreement.
BMA Scotland said the Government pledged in 2023 to make “credible progress” towards restoring pay to 2008 levels in each of the next three years.
However, it said the Government’s pay offer for resident doctors – formerly known as junior doctors – for next year would see them receive a real-terms pay cut.
The union added that the “unacceptable” offer is below the level recommended by an independent pay review, and the lowest uplift for resident doctors anywhere in the UK.
Dr Chris Smith, chairman of the BMA’s Scottish resident doctor committee (SRDC), said: “In our pay negotiations this year, the Government has shamefully reneged on the deal we agreed in 2023, and we therefore have been left with no choice but to move forward with plans to ballot members for strike action in order to protect that deal.
“This agreement was the only thing that prevented strike action by resident doctors in Scotland in 2023 and we remain the UK’s only resident doctors not to have gone on strike since it was agreed.
“But that will be forced to change if our agreed deal is ignored. By going back on the deal, the Scottish Government have knowingly and severely increased the likelihood of us choosing the path of industrial action and the disruption to the NHS that will cause.
“To be absolutely clear, on our side, we want a negotiated settlement, as we have achieved each of the past two years.”
Dr Smith said there is still time to avert industrial action, but a “real improvement” in the offer is needed.
“The offer this year is likely to be less even than RPI inflation, which means that it would have constituted a real-terms pay cut – we are already 17% worse off than our peers were in 2008 and this would have made that worse,” he said.
“It is completely unacceptable and it is clear that this is a far cry from the credible progress on the path to pay restoration that we were promised.”
Dr Smith warned that without an acceptable offer the NHS risks losing resident doctors to “other professions and countries”, which he said would have “disastrous consequences for a heath service already on its knees”.
He continued: “The decision to ballot for strike action has not been taken lightly, but frankly we have been left with no other choice.
“We are not asking for more – we trusted the Scottish Government in accepting the pay deal and are simply asking that they now deliver that deal.”
Health Secretary Neil Gray said he “did not recognise” claims the Government has backtracked on the 2023 agreement, pointing out that resident doctors received uplifts of 12.4% in 2023/24 and 11% in 2024/25.
“These were the highest pay awards across the public sector that, I believe, were justified to begin the process of delivering on the 2023 agreement in good faith,” he said.
“While I respect the BMA’s right to pursue this course of action, I am nonetheless disappointed that resident doctors have chosen to be in dispute with the Scottish Government.
“I have made a fair, affordable, equitable pay offer of 4.25% for 2025/26, with a further 3.75% for 2026/27.
“That’s the same offer that nurses and other NHS staff chose to accept earlier this year and shows the value we also place on the role that resident doctors play in our hospitals and health clinics.”
The government on Thursday kept petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) prices unchanged at Rs253.17 per litre and Rs257.08 per litre respectively, for the coming fortnight, starting from January 16.
This decision was notified in a press release issued by the Petroleum Division.
Earlier, it was expected that the prices of all petroleum products would go down by up to Rs4.50 per litre (over 1pc each) today in view of variation in the international market.
Petrol is primarily used in private transport, small vehicles, rickshaws, and two-wheelers, and directly impacts the budgets of the middle and lower-middle classes.
Meanwhile, most of the transport sector runs on HSD. Its price is considered inflationary, as it is mostly used in heavy transport vehicles, trains, and agricultural engines such as trucks, buses, tractors, tube wells, and threshers, and particularly adds to the prices of vegetables and other eatables.
The government is currently charging about Rs100 per litre on petrol and about Rs97 per litre on diesel.
One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.
Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket a total of 112 times over a two-year period, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.
He will be sentenced next month.
District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.
He pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.
It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.
During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.
They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional.
But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.
JSW Jetour T2 Launch: JSW Motors Limited, the passenger vehicle arm of the JSW Group, is reportedly preparing to enter the Indian car market this year. It has partnered with Jetour, a China-based automotive brand owned by Chery Automobile, and the Jetour T2 SUV could be the company’s first product, according to the reports.
Media reports suggest that the launch will happen independently and not under the JSW MG Motor India joint venture. The SUV will wear a JSW badge and name, instead of the Jetour branding. The upcoming SUV will be assembled at JSW’s upcoming greenfield manufacturing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra.
According to the reports, the company plans to have the vehicle on sale by the third quarter of this year. With this move, JSW aims to establish itself as a standalone carmaker in India.
Expected Powertrain
The SUV is likely to arrive with a 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid setup. Internationally, this hybrid powertrain is offered with both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options. It is still unclear which version will be introduced in India.
Design
In terms of design, the T2 is a large and rugged-looking SUV. It has a boxy and upright stance, similar to vehicles like the Land Rover Defender. Despite its tough appearance, it uses a monocoque chassis instead of a ladder-frame construction.
Size
The SUV measures around 4.7 metres in length and nearly 2 metres in width. This makes it larger than the Tata Safari, even though it is a five-seater. A longer 7-seat version is also sold in some markets.
Price
Pricing details for India are yet to be announced. For reference, the front-wheel-drive five-seat T2 i-DM is priced at AED 1,44,000 (around Rs 35 lakh) in the UAE.
Jetour
Jetour is a brand owned by Chinese automaker Chery. Launched in 2018, it focuses mainly on SUVs and is present in markets across China, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
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