NHS pay rises: Doctors threaten strike action after receiving 4% pay offer as BMA says it doesn't go far enough

The British Medical Association (BMA), the union which represents doctors, has said that the 4% pay rise does not go far enough in restoring historical pay freezes. The government announced the officer yesterday (May 23) after a review of public sector pay.

Doctors have been offered an above-inflation pay rise of 4%, while other professions in the NHS were offered a 3.6% rise. The pay increased were recommended by independent pay review bodies.

Professor Philip Banfield, the BMA’s chairman of council, said: “Doctors’ pay is still around a quarter less than it was in real terms 16 years ago and today’s ‘award’ delays pay restoration even more, without a Government plan or reassurance to correct this erosion of what a doctor is worth.”

RCN general secretary and chief executive Professor Nicola Ranger warned the pay award for other NHS staff was “entirely swallowed up by inflation and does nothing to change the status quo – where nursing is not valued, too few enter it and too many quit”.

As part of the pay offer, teachers were also offered a 4% pay increase. Downing Street said that the pay rises across both health and education were “worth £6.9 billion in total”.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said that the pay rise would only be partly covered by the government, adding that schools themselves will be required to fund the remaining quarter of the pay increase via “improved productivity and smarter spending”.

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said that this would result in “cuts in service provision to children and young people, job losses, and additional workloads for an already overstretched profession”.

He added: “Unless the Government commit to fully funding the pay rise then it is likely that the NEU will register a dispute with the Government on the issue of funding, and campaign to ensure every parent understands the impact of a cut in the money available to schools, and that every politician understands this too.”

Political opponents have blasted the Labour government and told ministers that they need to “get a grip” amid the threat of strikes in the public sector.

Edward Argar, shadow health secretary, said: “We warned Labour that the unions would simply come back for more when they gave in to the strikes and agreed to above-inflation pay demands with no strings attached. Now, with the threat of renewed strikes once again casting a shadow over the NHS, that warning is becoming reality.

“The Government need to get a grip, say how they’ll pay for above-inflation pay rises without taking money from services for patients and to stand up to the unions by negotiating a fair, affordable deal for taxpayers, or the real losers from this will be the patients.”