Consultants in Northern Ireland to be balloted on strike action from next week

The BMA will ballot consultants in Northern Ireland on industrial action from next week, doctors’ leaders have announced.A five week ballot will open on 7 May after talks between representatives from the BMA Northern Ireland Consultants Committee and the devolved Department of Health failed to yield progress.The talks were held in response to the committee’s concerns over the continuing erosion of consultants’ pay, the effect this is having on recruitment and retention in Northern Ireland, and its impact on patient care. The committee also noted that a ministerial promise to apply the 6% pay uplift for consultants that was recommended last year by the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration has still not occurred.Highlighting that a new pay deal for consultants in England has been accepted,1 that pay talks are continuing in Scotland and Wales, and higher pay for consultants working in the Republic of Ireland, committee chair David…
Read Original Article: Consultants in Northern Ireland to be balloted on strike action from next week »