Humza Yousaf to make last-ditch pay offer to NHS staff in Scotland
Junior doctors in Scotland are set to be offered their “biggest ever” pay rise as Humza Yousaf makes an 11th-hour attempt to prevent strikes bringing major disruption to the NHS.
The First Minister is due to meet representatives of the British Medical Association (BMA) on Tuesday, where he will present a revised pay offer ahead of next week’s planned walkout.
He claimed the new deal would put “thousands of pounds” into the pockets of junior doctors, who are preparing to go on strike for three days between Wednesday 12 and Saturday 15 July.
Last month, junior doctors in the BMA rejected the Scottish Government’s “final” offer of a 14.5 per cent pay rise over two years, raising the prospect of serious disruption for patients.
The industrial action is likely to result in the cancellation of all non-urgent NHS operations and other procedures, with tens of thousands of patients being affected.
On Monday Mr Yousaf admitted that the strike would cause “major disruption” after he chaired an emergency meeting on the issue.
The First Minister was speaking after being briefed on the contingency plans being put in place by health boards ahead of the planned walkout.
He chaired a meeting of ministers and health officials in the Scottish Government Resilience Room, the equivalent of a UK Government Cobra meeting.
Later, as he marked the 75th anniversary of the NHS during a visit to Forth Valley Hospital in Larbert, near Falkirk, the First Minister said he planned to meet with the BMA on Tuesday to discuss a new offer.
He said: “I’m prepared to offer junior doctors the biggest ever uplift seen in the history of devolution, and if accepted, it would put thousands of pounds into the pockets of our junior doctors and they will be worth every single penny.”
He said the plans would only be discussed with junior doctors, but that reforms to contracts and working conditions could be on the table as well as a pay rise.
He added that the walkouts could be “hugely significant”, resulting in “potentially tens of thousands of patients being affected and having their procedures cancelled”.
Asked if he was confident that junior doctors would accept an improved offer, he replied: “I think it’s 50/50 if I’m being honest.
“I don’t think it’s a done deal by any stretch of the imagination. I think it’s going to be a challenging negotiation given where we know the BMA are and what we’re able to afford.
“But I do believe the BMA, absolutely, when they say they want to do everything they can to avoid industrial action.”
Dr Chris Smith, chair of the BMA’s Scottish junior doctors committee, said: “Junior doctors in Scotland have consistently and strongly made clear that the pay offers made so far by the Scottish Government are not yet sufficient to demonstrate a commitment to reverse the years of pay erosion we have suffered, which has seen pay reduced by 28.5 per cent since 2008.
“No one can seriously argue a junior doctor today is worth that much less than a counterpart 15 years ago. Indeed, our members rejected the Scottish Government’s latest offer decisively.
“Unless we act now and invest in the future of the workforce, we will go on losing doctors to places they are valued properly, compromising the care we can provide to the people of Scotland now and in the future.”
