The British Medical Association — the union that represents junior physicians — and the British government have reached an agreement over a highly disputed contract, according to BBC.
Now 40,000 members of the BMA will vote on the contract, according to the report. Though it could still be rejected, the agreement is a major development, considering the negotiations of this contract date back to December 2012, according to the report.
The last eight days of negotiation were seen as a last ditch effort to reach an agreement after the junior physicians went on a series of strikes, including one full-walk out in April, the first-ever all out strike in the history of the U.K.'s National Health Service, according to the report.
Changes to the initial contract include a basic pay raise of between 10 percent and 11 percent. Weekends will not be divided by normal and unsocial, or night, hours; instead, physicians will be paid based on how many weekends they work each year. Additionally, night shift bonus pay will be reduced from 50 percent to 37 percent, among other provisions, according to the report.
BMA members will vote on the new contract in June, according to the report.
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