Junior doctors in Scotland have accepted the latest pay deal offered, ending their dispute without any days lost to strikes.
Members of the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) voted to accept the Scottish government’s 12.4% pay deal for 2023/24.
Industrial action by junior doctors had been avoided in Scotland. The two unions have been coordinating industrial action in England.
Junior doctors pay deal
The result of the BMA Scotland’s consultative vote saw 81.64% vote in favour of the offer on a 71.24% turnout, while HCSA members voted 67.5% to accept the deal on a 74% turnout.
The pay award will be backdated to April 2023. The deal also includes a guaranteed pay uplift in line with inflation for the financial year in 2024/25, 2025/26 and 2026/27, and a process to introduce a new pay review mechanism.
BMA Scotland will enter contract negotiations with the Scottish government from the autumn, with the aim of improving the working and training conditions of junior doctors by April 2026.
Dr Chris Smith, chair of the BMA’s Scotland Junior Doctors’ Committee, said: “This offer moves us from a position where pay restoration was a strongly held conviction within our profession to a shared goal that the Scottish government has publicly committed to working with us to complete.
“Key to this offer, that sets it apart from what is happening elsewhere in the UK, is that the Scottish government recognises this reality and has agreed to ongoing negotiations towards full pay restoration to 2008 levels, with an unprecedented commitment to set inflation as the floor of the pay offer at each round of negotiation. This structure will maintain the momentum of our campaign in Scotland for full pay restoration over the next few months and into next year.
Key to this offer, that sets it apart from what is happening elsewhere in the UK, is that the Scottish government recognises this reality and has agreed to ongoing negotiations towards full pay restoration to 2008 levels” – Dr Chris Smith, BMA Scotland
“If sufficient progress towards full pay restoration is not made at the next round of negotiations or should the Scottish government not follow through with any elements of its offer, we will not hesitate to ballot our members again and take strike action, should it be required.”
HCSA president Dr Naru Narayanan said: “HCSA members have cautiously backed the immediate pay award put forward by the Scottish government, but they remain concerned that future commitments are still shrouded in uncertainty.
“We do not yet know the shape of any future pay review process nor the detail on promised inflationary rises in future years.
“HCSA and the Scottish TUC have therefore written jointly today to the health secretary to ensure that the views of our members are fully represented and build constructively on the promises made to date.”
The letter from the Scottish TUC and HCSA urges the government to outline a timeline for pay restoration.
It says: “It is good to see an immediate plan to curtail erosion, and a longer-term strategy for reform. Overall, we welcome the significant progress this award represents in achieving pay restoration.
“However, our members are not without reservations. Detail is lacking on the process, which in turn affects confidence. Our members have therefore asked us to keep the situation under review, and particularly to monitor that the awards promised for the next three years are indeed greater than inflation.”
Scotland’s health secretary Michael Matheson said: “This is the single biggest investment in junior doctor pay since devolution, and maintains our commitment to make Scotland the best place in the UK for junior doctors to work and train.
“Due to the meaningful engagement we have had with trade unions, we have avoided any industrial action in Scotland – the only part of the UK to avoid NHS strikes.
“We will now implement this pay uplift, and will work with BMA to take forward the other aspects of the deal including contract and pay bargaining reform.”
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