BMA Cymru: Doctors reject 5% pay offer from Welsh government

The British Medical Association Cymru Wales (BMA) has confirmed that it has rejected the Welsh Government’s offer of a 5% pay rise for consultants, junior doctors, and specialist doctors on the 2008 contract.

Those on the newer 2021 specialist contracts would receive no increase, other than that already in their multi-year pay deal.

The proposal was met with strong criticism. Dr. Iona Collins, chair of the BMA’s Welsh council, called it the “worst offer in the UK.” Reports the BBC.

She pointed out that “A 5% uplift represents yet another pay cut in real terms” and that it did not align with the Welsh government’s commitment to full pay restoration.

Plaid Cymru spokesperson for health and care, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, further expressed dissatisfaction with the offer, stating that doctors were being asked to accept a decline in living standards.

He said, “The reality of this pay offer is that doctors were being asked to accept a further fall in living standards. Understandably, BMA Cymru Wales has rejected an offer that was little more than a sticking plaster over the deep wound caused by years of underfunding.”

The rejection comes in light of more generous offers elsewhere in the UK. In England, doctors were offered a 6% rise in July, while in Scotland, junior doctors were offered a 17.5% increase over two years.

The Welsh offer was also less than the DDRB (Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body) recommendation.

The situation highlights a broader issue of dissatisfaction among medical professionals in Wales, particularly regarding pay and conditions.

With more than a decade’s worth of sub-inflation pay awards, the recent proposal was seen as inadequate to address the long-standing concerns.

The Welsh government said it was “disappointing” negotiations had halted but said it understood the strength of feeling among doctors, the BBC reports.

Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister, Russell George MS said: “I am disheartened by the news that the Labour Government which has run our health service for 25 years, have been unable to at least match the UK Conservative Government’s pay offer for doctors to end this dispute, given that for every £1 spent on health in England, Wales receives £1.20.

“Labour need to seriously look at their costly vanity projects like sending more politicians to Cardiff Bay and prioritise our Welsh NHS inste