Medical consultants narrowly reject pay rise in latest ballot on government offer
British Medical Association (BMA) consultants voted 51.1% against a 4.95% pay rise offer following a month-long referendum
Consultants in England have voted narrowly against a government offer aimed at ending their long-running pay dispute.
Over 23,000 British Medical Association (BMA) consultants voted 51.1% against a 4.95% pay rise offer following a month-long referendum.
“The vote has shown that consultants do not feel the current offer goes far enough to end the current dispute and offer a long-term solution to the recruitment and retention crisis for senior doctors, Dr Vishal Sharma, BMA consultants committee chair, said.
Given how close the result is, the BMA is giving the government "a chance to improve the offer."
“In the coming days we will be further engaging with consultants, and seeking talks with government to explore whether the concerns expressed by our members during the referendum process can be addressed," Dr Sharma added.
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins said: “I hugely value the work of NHS consultants and I am disappointed that after weeks of constructive negotiations the BMA has, by the narrowest of margins, rejected this fair and reasonable offer."
She claims that the government hopes to improve waiting lists and focus on offering patients the highest care, and added that "the government is therefore carefully considering next steps."
“We already know the kind of progress our NHS staff can make in the absence of strikes – waiting lists fell by more than 95,000 in November, the first month without industrial action for over a year and the biggest decrease since December 2010 outside of the pandemic.”
Consultants in England currently have a mandate to take strike action until June.
It comes two weeks after the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA), which represents around 2,000 consultants, rejected an offer from the government.
Instead, it urged the Conservative party to reopen negotiations after a 58% ‘no’ vote to a package the union said would further erode investment as well as being “uneven” across the profession.
The union said its members were also concerned about changes to the so-called supporting professional activities (SPA) scheme, which gives consultants time for training and research.
Separately, junior doctors in England are being re-balloted by the BMA for another six month extension to industrial action.
The mandate for strikes is currently set to run out at the end of February. Unions involved in disputes have to re-ballot their members every six months on whether to continue with industrial action.
If there is a “yes” vote, the mandate for strike action in England would be extended across summer into September.
For the first time junior doctors in England will also be asked to approve action short of a strike as part of the mandate for action.
Junior doctors have taken part in a series of strikes over the past year, including a recent six day walkout, the longest in the history of the NHS.
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