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.
Business
Gold price today: How much 22K, 24K gold cost in Delhi, Patna & other cities – Check rates – The Times of India
Gold prices climbed to a fresh lifetime high in the domestic market on Thursday amid sustained buying by jewellers and stockists, according to the All India Sarafa Association.Gold advanced by Rs 800 to hit a new peak of Rs 1,47,300 per 10 grams (inclusive of all taxes), extending gains for the fifth consecutive session. The yellow metal had closed at Rs 1,46,500 per 10 grams in the previous session.Since the start of 2026, gold prices have surged Rs 9,600, or around 7 per cent, supported by persistent demand in the physical market. In overseas trade, spot gold slipped USD 12.22, or 0.26 per cent, to USD 4,614.45 per ounce, after having touched a record high of USD 4,643.06 per ounce in the previous session.Here is how much gold costs in major Indian cities today:
Gold price in Delhi today
The price of 22K gold in Delhi is Rs 13,140 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,333 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Chennai today
In Chennai, 22K gold costs Rs 13,290 per gram, up Rs 10, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,498 per gram, higher by Rs 10.
Gold price in Mumbai today
Mumbai markets see 22K gold priced at Rs 13,125 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold stands at Rs 14,318 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Ahmedabad today
In Ahmedabad, 22K gold is priced at Rs 13,130 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold costs Rs 14,323 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Kolkata today
Kolkata markets price 22K gold at Rs 13,125 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold stands at Rs 14,318 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Jaipur today
In Jaipur, 22K gold costs Rs 13,140 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,333 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Hyderabad today
Hyderabad sees 22K gold at Rs 13,125 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,318 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Bhubaneswar today
Bhubaneswar markets see 22K gold priced at Rs 13,125 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold costs Rs 14,318 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Patna today
In Patna, 22K gold costs Rs 13,130 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold is priced at Rs 14,323 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
Gold price in Lucknow today
Lucknow markets see 22K gold priced at Rs 13,140 per gram, down Rs 75, while 24K gold costs Rs 14,333 per gram, lower by Rs 82.
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”.
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