Why junior doctors in Scotland voted to strike

Junior doctors in Scotland will strike for three days in July after rejecting the Scottish government’s pay offer. Two thirds of eligible junior doctors turned out to vote on the pay deal, and 71 per cent rejected the offer. 

The 72-hour strike will take place from 7am on Wednesday 12 July to 6.59am on Saturday 15 July unless, the doctors’ union says, ‘an improved offer that the BMA believes it could credibly put to members’ is made by the Scottish government. 

Last month, Scotland’s junior doctors were offered a 6.5 per cent pay rise for this coming year. It was described as a 14.5 per cent pay increase by the SNP government, broken down into an extra 3 per cent increase added to an already agreed 4.5 per cent rise for the 2022/23 period – plus the 6.5 per cent hike for 2023/24. 

The Scottish government also suggested it would set up a ‘junior doctor pay bargaining review taskforce’ with BMA Scotland’s junior doctor committee, which would look to help medics in Scotland prevent pay erosion in the future.

The announcement brings more bad news for First Minister Humza Yousaf, who has been determined to avoid healthcare workers striking. It also presents new health secretary Michael Matheson with more challenges – on top of his all-new ‘NHS recovery’ role.

Matheson has since said that while he respects the outcome of the ballot, he is ‘disappointed’ that medics have rejected the government’s pay offer to pursue strike action ‘which is in no one’s interest’.

‘Humza Yousaf has continually tried to defend his government’s record by saying that there have no strikes on his watch,’ said Dr Sandesh Ghulane, shadow health secretary for the Scottish Conservatives. ‘Now that excuse looks to be no longer the case.’

Jackie Baillie, health spokesperson for Scottish Labour has described the vote as ‘an overwhelming rejection of the SNP government’s failure to stand up for Scotland’s junior doctors’. She urged Matheson to ‘get around the table with BMA and act to avert this strike’.

The attitude among medics is one of determination, spurred on by how their counterparts in England have acted. Health secretary Matheson says his ‘door remains open’ and that he plans to meet with BMA Scotland this week. So will the Scottish government offer a revised pay deal? If Yousaf is serious about avoiding industrial action then it seems like the Scottish government doesn’t have much choice. The question is: will the next offer be enough?