Strikes and pay increases

Has the season of strikes ended? In the news, many professions have now ceased their strike action. Teachers have now accepted a 6.5% pay deal meaning they will not strike anymore. Nurses, paramedics and 999 call handlers accepted a 5% pay increase as well as a one off payment to end the strikes. The nurses were actually in favour of continuing to strike but the turn out for their ballot was too low to legally allow more striking. Firefighters didn't strike but they accepted a 7% backdated pay increase and 5% pay increase this year. 

There are a few professions still striking though. Podiatrists and radiographers are still in dispute, disrupting foot procedures and scans respectively. The junior doctors and consultants are also still striking, having got planned two big strikes in August in their aim to get near 35% pay increases to try match inflation. Junior doctors will be getting a 6% pay increase as well as a £1,250 increase, whereas the consultants will get 6% pay increase. The government have said there will be no negotiation from this and no more offers will be coming - who knows how this will end. Will the junior doctors and consultants just cave in or will there be months more of strikes. I've heard that hospitals are finding it hard to even know who is striking so pay for striking doctors isn't even being docked in some cases, there is no disincentive to strike! I do empathise with the striking junior doctors though, so many posts of social media of senior doctors showing their payslips from 10-20 years ago showing similar if not more money when they were SHOs. How can we get more doctors coming through if we can't attract them with a financially viable career, especially if they may be laiden with £100k of debt. 

GPs though are not immune to inflation and talk of pay rises. Partners have to pay their staff and any other expenses and get any left over as profit. This has been eroded as minimum wage has increased and the Review Board on Doctors and Dentist's remuneration (DDRB) recommended pay reward for salaried doctors are above any increase in funding that comes into the practice. This year, the DDRB has recommended a 6% pay increase for salaried doctors, which GMS practices using the BMA contract at obligated to give. Interestingly, the government has said they will help fund this, but this is no talk about how much they will give. Some practices have lots of salaried doctors whereas some have none - a blanket 6% increase in core funding will benefit some and make others lose out. Not helping is practice nurses being pressured by their union to also demand 6% pay offer as well - even though they are not part of the same contract as hospital nurses. 

There is no talk of GP partner's getting an uplift, nor what will happen after this year's contract. Next year 2024-2025 has not been decided, and with it being an election year, what will the government do to try win the election? Will they promise unrealistic access demands in primary care or give much needed funding to primary care that may help this crisis. They are likely to do something big to try hold onto power so watch this space.