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Senior doctors in England to vote on industrial
action
BMA says consultant pay has declined by 35% since
2008-9
Danya
Hajjaji and Sally Weale
Mon 15 May
2023 06.00 BST
Senior
doctors in England are to vote on whether to strike amid the continued row over
pay in healthcare, as teachers’ unions also plan to hold a ballot for
industrial action.
The ballot
will open on Monday until 27 June as the British Medical Association urges
members to approve.
Dr Vishal
Sharma, who chairs the BMA consultants committee, said talks were held with the
government in an attempt to resolve the dispute, but the deadlock persisted.
“We have
seen our take-home pay decline by 35% since 2008-9 and this is even before the
impact of this year’s soaring inflation has been considered,” he said, speaking
on behalf of consultants. “As a result of this, consultants are now effectively
working four months of the year for free.
“Even as
late as this weekend, we remained hopeful that we would secure a pay offer that
went some way toward making up for the decline we have seen. Unfortunately
however, given that inflation remains in double digits, the final offer from
government represented yet another real-terms pay cut.
“On the
back of 15 years of our pay declining, we simply could not accept a deal that
continued this downward trend and have been left with no option but to proceed
today with the ballot for industrial action.”
Sharma said
consultants did not want to take industrial action, adding: “Ultimately, the
government made a political choice to cut our pay again this year and unless we
can secure a commitment that the government will take the necessary steps to
restore our pay over the long term, we simply cannot accept an offer that sees
our pay fall even further.”
Meanwhile,
a nurses’ union is preparing a ballot on whether to strike again after its
leader requested a double-figure pay rise for nurses.
Pat Cullen,
general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), initially encouraged
RCN members to accept the government’s offer of a 5% rise for 2023-24 and a
one-off payment worth between £1,655 and £3,789. However, this was rejected in
a vote by 54% to 46%.
Speaking to
the Sunday Times, Cullen called on the health secretary, Steve Barclay, to
restart negotiations and said the numbers need to “start off in double
figures”.
Grant
Shapps, the energy secretary, told Sky News he found Cullen’s change of
position to be “confusing”.
Two
teachers’ unions will also open new strike ballots on Monday, raising the
prospect of coordinated industrial action in the autumn term that would cause
widespread disruption to schools in England.
The
National Education Union (NEU), which has already staged strikes this year in
pursuit of its claim for a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise, is
reballoting members as its current mandate for industrial action ends on 13
July.
Members of
the National Association of Head Teachers will also be asked to vote on whether
they are in favour of taking strike action, after failing to reach the legal
threshold for turnout in an earlier ballot.
Other
unions are also expected to ballot their members after all four education
unions rejected the government’s final pay offer of a £1,000 bonus and a 4.5%
average pay increase next year.
Dr Mary
Bousted and Kevin Courtney, NEU joint general secretaries, said: “The pay and
funding offer made by [the education secretary] Gillian Keegan following six
days of talks in March was simply not good enough, and teachers branded it an
insult.
“Our
reballot would allow the NEU to coordinate action with other teacher unions in
the autumn term if government does not provide a settlement to the dispute.”
The
Department for Education said: “It is bitterly disappointing that unions
continue to pursue strike action, despite having already cost children almost a
week in school.”
A
Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We hugely value the
work of NHS consultants and they received a 4.5% pay uplift last financial
year, increasing average earnings to around £128,000.
“We urge
the BMA to carefully consider the likely impact of any action on patients.”
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