DOCTORS in Scotland will strike over pay “as a last resort” after nearly four in five said they are willing to take some form of industrial action.
A consultation of BMA Scotland members organised following the Scottish Government’s 4.5 per cent pay award found that 90% considered the uplift too low, and 78% agreed that they “would be willing to take some form of industrial action in order to deliver the improved pay that is required”.
The 4.5% award, recommended by the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration Body - an independent review panel which advises the UK and devolved governments - would take the starting salary for a junior doctor in Scotland to £27,653, and the basic pay for a newly-qualified consultant to £91,473.
Overall, it adds £77 million to the annual NHS pay bill in Scotland.
ANALYSIS: Why doctors are angry at their 4.5 per cent 'pay rise'
However, medics have branded the award a “brutal pay cut” in the face of spiralling inflation on top of more than a decade of sub-inflation pay awards, which had already seen doctors real-terms earnings fall by 9% on average between 2010 and 2019.
Dr Lewis Morrison, the outgoing chair of BMA Scotland who is due to step down on August 30, said: “The level of dissatisfaction, disillusionment and indeed outright anger amongst many doctors that this survey shows is clear.
“It puts the Scottish Government on warning that the status quo for doctors in Scotland is no longer acceptable and in truth hasn’t been for some time.
“This survey was about this year’s pay uplift which in itself was completely unacceptable and amounted to massive real terms pay cut.
“But it’s important to remember the wider context – where doctors have suffered years of pay erosion and are bearing the brunt of trying to care for patients in an NHS that is basically collapsing around them.
“And that’s after more than two years of heroic efforts on the frontline of the pandemic.”
BMA Scotland leaders, including chair-elect Dr Iain Kennedy, are now seeking urgent talks with Health Secretary Humza Yousaf.
In the meantime, junior doctors, consultants, GPs, and staff and specialist doctors, will be consulted separately by representatives from their own BMA Scotland committees on what steps they wish to take.
READ MORE: Clearing NHS backlog 'completely unrealistic' without pay and pensions fix
This could result in different industrial action being taken by medics from different branches of the profession.
Dr Morrison added: “No one would ever take industrial action lightly and it would only be a last resort when other avenues have been exhausted.
“But it is clear from our survey that this is a live option, and members are willing to consider taking a variety of types of industrial action, up to and including strike action if required as a last resort.”
The survey of 3,100 doctors in Scotland was carried out between July 20 and August 5.
Three quarters said the 4.5% pay award had further decreased their morale working in the NHS; 58% said they were more likely to leave the NHS as a result; and 88% felt their contribution to the NHS was not recognised by the DDRB.
Outlining its recommendations in July, the DDRB said that most employers are not matching inflation with their pay awards and that it did “not believe that doctors and dentists should necessarily be exceptionally shielded from these increases to the cost of living faced by the wider population”.
However, medical leaders in Scotland and the rest of the UK have warned that without action on pay and pension taxes - which are leading some senior clinicians to retire early or cut their hours - it will be impossible to clear the NHS backlogs built up during the pandemic.
Doctors in Scotland last went on strike for one day in 2012 in protest over pension changes.
Mr Yousaf said: “The annual pay uplift of 4.5% for NHS medical staff is the largest since devolution and followed recommendations by the independent Doctors and Dentists Pay Review Body (DDRB).
“The Scottish Government, BMA Scotland and other relevant stakeholders all participated and provided evidence to the DDRB to allow them to make their independent recommendations.
“This year’s award builds on the 3% uplift that was recommended and applied by the Scottish Government in 2021. This means staff have been awarded a 7.5% pay increase over the last two years.
"This award will see a senior consultant receive an uplift of more than £5,000 this year. Taken alongside last year’s pay award of 3% senior consultant pay will have risen by over £8,500 in the past two years.
“This uplift demonstrates that we value all our medical and dental staff and the important contribution they make. It’s crucial that we continue to not only recruit and build our future NHS workforce, but also retain expertise within NHS Scotland.
“Our senior medical staff will continue to be the best paid in the UK and this will help ensure that NHS Scotland remains an attractive employment option for all medical staff.
“I have regular engagement with the BMA and will continue that dialogue.”
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