Junior doctors vote against strike action
BMA members have voted to accept a pay deal from the Scottish Government
Last updated 16th Aug 2023
Junior doctors in Scotland have voted not to take strike action over pay.
They have accepted a Scottish Government pay deal of 12.4%, with more than 81% of the 71% balloted opting against industrial action.
The deal will be backdated to April, and has been hailed as a “good first step” by the chair of the Scottish Junior Doctors' Committee (SJDC) with the British Medical Association (BMA), Dr Chris Smith.
However, he added: “There is still a significant amount of work that needs to be done, if Scotland’s junior doctors are to feel valued in the NHS.
“Our contract is over 20 years old, and this agreement will allow it to be renegotiated and modernised so that junior doctors can have good working conditions that will allow us to feel valued.”
"Good first step"
The BMA are hopeful this will be the beginning of restoring junior doctors’ pay to equivalent levels as in 2008, taking inflation into account.
Dr Smith continued: “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.
Together with the pay raise of 4.5% awarded in 2022–23, the increases amount to a total of 17.5% over two years.
Scottish Government are "very pleased"
Health Secretary Michael Matheson said he was “very pleased” the deal had been accepted.
He continued: “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.”