In a remarkable move, the deal under discussion would give consultants in England a hefty further pay rise for this year in return for calling off their stoppages. That is despite Rishi Sunak's previous insistence that he would not revisit the 6% award he described as "final".
Under the deal - if agreed - the NHS's 34,600 consultants would receive an extra 6% increase for 2023-24, on top of the 6% they have already had.
However, that extra 6% would be in the form of a one-off award, and not be a permanent increase in their pay. The same device helped to persuade nurses, ambulance workers and other NHS staff to call off their strikes in the spring.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the British Medical Association (BMA) are both keen to resolve the dispute, which has seen consultants stage nine days of walkouts since July.
The DHSC hopes that an agreement with the consultants would help to isolate their much more militant junior doctor colleagues, who have threatened to keep on striking until the next general election at the end of 2024 in pursuit of a 35% pay rise.
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