Doctors have warned that a pay deal aimed at preventing industrial action is “totally unacceptable”.
Just a day after teaching unions warned of fresh strike action at schools, there are concerns that health care workers could also stage walk outs.
A leading health union last week said a “derogatory pay offer or no pay offer will lead to a widespread challenge from health workers” adding that “inevitably industrial action will follow”.
Amid concerns of a winter of strike action, First Minister Michelle O’Neill said on Thursday she believed it is “not inevitable”.
She said she hoped there could be a “positive resolution” adding the Executive does not want workers to go on strike.
Discussions about a pay award for health workers for 2024/25 took place between UUP health minister Mike Nesbitt and Nipsa, Unite, Unison and the BMA unions.
It has been reported that a current proposal would see pay backdated to August, but not to April like other parts of the UK.
Unison last week had hit out that its members in Northern Ireland were being “overlooked yet again” after a 5.5% increase recommended by the Pay Review Body had only been applied in England, Scotland and Wales.
The BMA also said that in July 2024 the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Pay Review Body (DDRB) recommended an uplift of 6% for all doctors, which has already been applied in the rest of the UK.
The BMA described the “scale of anger and outrage” among doctors as “unprecedented”.
But Dr Alan Stout, BMA NI council chair, said Mr Nesbitt had informed the union on Thursday that “he is not in a position to make the full pay award”.
“On behalf of all doctors in Northern Ireland, I made it clear this was totally unacceptable,” he said.
“I will now meet with the chairs of all the BMA branch of committees in Northern Ireland to seek their views on how to proceed.
“The scale of anger and outrage I have been hearing over the course of the last week is unprecedented.
"The scale of anger and outrage I have been hearing over the course of the last week is unprecedented. Doctors are totally disillusioned with DoH and its attitude towards doctors’ pay."@AlanStout19 statement on today's meeting with the health ministerhttps://t.co/b9IMo3VgZ1
— BMA Northern Ireland (@BMA_NI) November 14, 2024
“Doctors here are totally disillusioned with the Department of Health and its attitude towards doctors’ pay.
“They seem to believe that by paying us less than counterparts in the rest of the UK, it will somehow motivate us to work harder to address the chaos our health system is in.”
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Nesbitt declined to say what was offered, but said there had been constructive discussions.
“I put the plan to them and they accepted it as a serious proposal, but it is one they need to go away and think about and consult upon,” he said.
Mr Nesbitt has previously warned he has not been allocated enough money for pay for health workers, revealing he was £100 million short of the money needed to make pay awards of at least 5.5% to all health staff.
Teaching unions this week warned of fresh strike action at schools.
Unions representing the majority of teachers in the north said on Wednesday that members are set to be balloted on reinstating industrial action.
Teachers are now threatening to walk out again as they say current salaries place them at the bottom of the UK profession’s pay league.
