Doctors in Scotland would take industrial action over pay
- Published
A BMA Scotland survey showed 78% of doctors in Scotland were willing to strike over their pay offer
Doctors are willing to take industrial action - which includes a strike - if their pay offer from the Scottish government is not reconsidered, BMA Scotland has warned.
Chairman Dr Lewis Morrison said medics were feeling demoralised and questioning whether to stay in the profession.
NHS medical and dental staff have been awarded a 4.5% pay rise this year.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said it was the largest rise since devolution.
If a doctors' strike went ahead, it would be the first in Scotland in a decade.
However in a recent survey by British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland, 78% of doctors who took part said they were prepared to take industrial action for a better pay award.
Elsewhere, 90% said the offer was too low, 88% felt it did not reflect their contribution and 58% said they were more likely to leave the NHS.
The study spoke to 3,100 medics north of the border between 20 July and 5 August after a 4.5% offer was rejected.
The last doctors' strike in Scotland in June 2012 was the profession's first industrial action in 37 years.
It saw non-emergency hospital clinics, outpatient appointments and planned surgeries cancelled.
'Simply unacceptable'
Dr Morrison told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that there were many forms of industrial action doctors could take, up to and including a strike - although emergency cover would be assured.
Such action was a last resort, he said, and doctors would rather have negotiations with the Scottish government.
Dr Morrison said pay was just one issue causing unrest in the profession, with senior consultants considering early retirement so they do not lose money as a result of pension taxes.
He added doctors "gave everything" during the pandemic despite being "under-resourced and overstretched".
Mr Yousaf said that with the current pay offer, a senior consultant would receive a pay increase of more than £5,000 this year.
But Dr Morrison said the numbers do not reflect that doctors' pay had been cut in real terms, by up to 30%, in the last 10 to 15 years.
He said: "You can't keep rolling out the line that doctors are well paid when every year pretty much you cut their pay in real terms.
"Senior consultants and GPs are the most technically trained, experienced and most important people in terms of diagnosing what is wrong with you - we make the most profound decisions about people's lives because of the complexity of health care.
"Being told year on year that's worth less and less is simply unacceptable."
Mr Yousaf said he had regular engagement with the BMA and would continue that dialogue.
He said: "This uplift demonstrates that we value all our medical and dental staff, and the important contribution they make.
"It's crucial that we continue to not only recruit and build our future NHS workforce, but also retain expertise within NHS Scotland.
"Our senior medical staff will continue to be the best-paid in the UK and this will help ensure that NHS Scotland remains an attractive employment option for all medical staff."
The programme also heard from Andrea Bradley, general secretary of Scotland's largest teaching union, who said teachers were also considering a strike.
She said members of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) were likely to reject their 3.5% uplift as their expectation was a 10% rise in line with inflation.
"We don't accept that there is no more money," she said.
"We do understand there are challenges currently such as the management of public sector finances but that's for the government to work through."
The Scottish government said it was committed to supporting a fair pay offer for teachers, and it was for local government to make a revised pay offer.
A spokesperson added: "Industrial action would not be in anyone's interest, least of all learners and parents."
Doctors and teachers are the latest professionals to consider industrial action following a string of public sector strikes over the summer.
A fresh round of rail strikes has taken effect as Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members at Network Rail are in dispute over jobs, pay and working conditions.
This dispute does not involve ScotRail staff, however it will affect the train operator's ability to provide services.
People living in Edinburgh have been warned to expect "significant disruption" as the city's waste workers have launched a 12-day strike, again over pay.
Litter pickers hired to clear discarded flyers from the Edinburgh Fringe have described a "nightmare" of rubbish piling up as a result.
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