Senior figures express concerns over medical union’s refusal of pay rise that is higher than offer to other NHS staff
Trade unions have privately expressed qualms about the forthcoming doctors’ strikes, expressing frustration at the conduct of the talks and the demands of the British Medical Association.
The BMA is pushing for a pay rise higher than the 3.5% offered to doctors by the government, with strikes planned for next week.
However, more than a million NHS staff who are not doctors – including nurses, physiotherapists, midwives, healthcare assistants, ambulance workers and hospital porters – are due to receive an even lower pay rise of 3.3%, set via the Agenda for Change (AfC) system.
The decision of the BMA to push for more than 3.5% has caused some other unions with NHS staff to be aggrieved, especially some of those with pay set via AfC. “The deals we have been able to present to our members are becoming a much tougher sell,” one senior union figure said.
