Doctors threw down the government’s glove, calling for wage increases of up to 30% over the next five years, in a move that increases the chances of a strike.
Delegates to the annual conference of the British Medical Association (BMA) voted for press ministers to agree to the increase to offset real wage cuts over the past 14 years.
Some doctors who supported the proposal cite striking railway workers as inspiration for how groups of workers should pursue pay claims with the Boris Johnson administration.
Last week, members of the RMT union staged three suspensions, while teachers’ unions threatened to strike if their pay was not increased by more than inflation.
First-line doctors said years of wage freezes and annual wage increases of 1% have caused the real value of their pay to fall by almost a third since 2008. They now want a “full pay refund” to return the value of their pay at 2008 levels and instructed the BMA to pursue this goal with a government that made it clear that it would not give public sector workers significant wage increases if this was already fueling rampant inflation.
The proposal notes “with horror that the pay of all doctors has fallen relative to the RPI [the retail prices index] from 2008 to 30% ”. It says the BMA’s leadership must “achieve a 2008 salary recovery for its members over the next five years” and report annually on progress.
Offering the proposal, Dr. Emma Runcewick, a member of the BMA’s governing board, said: “We should not wait for things to get worse. We all deserve comfort and pleasure in our lives. Wage reimbursement is the right, fair and moral thing. But this is a significant demand and it will not be easy to win. Every part of the BMA has to plan how to achieve this. ”
She added: “I’m not stupid, I know that industrial action will probably be needed to move the government on this issue… Don’t be tempted to accept a miserable future for our profession. We cost more. ”
The BMA’s decision represents a major escalation of the growing determination among health unions to provide significantly higher salaries for NHS employees to help them cope with inflation, which reaches 9.1%. Everyone is pushing for a pay rise that is at least equal to inflation, although the Royal College of Nursing is aiming to increase it by 5%.
Junior doctors – all below the level of consultants – are closely involved in the pursuit of lost profits. In a speech in support of the proposal, Joanna Sutton-Klein, a medical and medical trainee, told the conference: “Some people may think that the requirement to reimburse more than 30% of the salary is too high, they may consider it scandalous. But I will tell you what is scandalous. It is outrageous that our pay has been reduced by 30%. It is outrageous that today’s doctors cannot afford mortgages and delay starting families due to our falling pay. It is outrageous that our pay has been reduced. It is reasonable to ask for it back. “
She said a 30% increase is possible. “Last month, binmen in Manchester won a 22% salary increase. Two weeks ago, Gatwick Airport workers won a 21% pay rise. And in March, cleaners and porters at Croydon Hospital won a 24 percent pay rise, “Sutton-Klein said, noting that the ability of these workers to” collectively and collectively withdraw labor “proved important to their success.
The depth of feelings among doctors about their pay was evident at the Brighton conference. One delegate, Anna Atou of London, called the proposal a “sale” because she said doctors had to “sit on their hands” without doing anything for five years. Others also said that the 30% recovery should be achieved much earlier, with one saying it should be done within six months.
Another speaker, Dr Kevin O’Kane, a consultant, told the audience: “This is our time of maximum strength. Don’t waste it with a five-year-old loose fuj. We need real action on this side of the general election. “
Two independent groups of experts advising the government on NHS remuneration – the NHS pay review body and the remuneration review body for doctors and dentists – will soon make recommendations on what first-line staff should receive in 2022. 2023
The pay review body is expected to recommend that NHS staff (excluding doctors and dentists) receive an increase this year from somewhere between 4% and 5% – over 3%, which ministers have set as a firm maximum, but well below that requested by health unions.
Dr Vishal Sharma, chairman of the BMA’s advisory committee, which is one of four contenders to become the union’s new leader on Wednesday, said he understood calls for a full pay back. “Doctors’ salaries have been unjustifiably reduced, with their home payments falling by almost a third since 2008. It is clear that our members will no longer tolerate the government’s sad failure to repeal these cuts.”
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A spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said: “We are incredibly grateful to all our NHS staff and are aware of the pressure caused by rising living costs. NHS employees received a 3% salary increase last year, despite a public sector wage freeze, and in 2019 the government and the BMA agreed on a multi-year agreement to pay trainee doctors, guaranteeing an 8.2% pay rise for four years.
“We are giving NHS workers another salary increase this year – no decisions have been made and we will look carefully at the recommendations of independent pay review bodies.
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