The health minister has welcomed resident doctors’ vote to accept a 4% pay increase, adding that financial pressures contributed to delays in pay negotiations.
On Monday the British Medical Association (BMA), the union representing doctors, said that in a referendum which closed this week, almost 95% of members voted to accept the pay offer.
Resident doctors, who were previously known as junior doctors, range from being newly qualified doctors earning less than £13 per-hour to experienced surgeons, oncologists and cardiologists earning £30 per-hour.
The union added that in addition to pay uplift for the 2023/2024 pay scale, the deal includes an agreement with the Department of Health to establish a timeline for contract reform.
It also includes the rollout of changes to enhance medical education for resident doctors.
The Minister said: “I welcome the decision by resident doctors to accept this offer, which also includes agreement to establish a timetable for contract reform discussions.
“We endeavour to work together and forge a relationship of mutual respect and collaboration as we progress with improvements on pay and non-pay which will, by extension, support the transformation of health and social care and help deliver better outcomes for the population of Northern Ireland.”
Mr Nesbitt also confirmed that he has written to all Health and Social Care (HSC) Trade Unions to confirm that the Department can now backdate the 2024/25 pay awards to 1 May 2024.
This follows the outcome of January monitoring, during which health was allocated £7m to use against pay and waiting lists. Any further additional funding identified this year will be utilised to move the effective date of all pay awards towards 1 April 2024.
The Minister added: “I remain committed to meeting, in full, the financial consequences of the recommendation of the pay review bodies for 2024/25.
“I would have much preferred a quicker, cleaner resolution of this year’s pay position, but financial pressures made that impossible.
“I have provided assurance to the Health Trade Unions that, all things being equal, I will approve the recommendations of the pay review bodies for 2025/26 pay awards when published.”
The department said that the confirmed pay package will see pay parity restored with England for a “large proportion of the overall health service workforce” in NI.
The Minister added: “In recent weeks, during visits to emergency departments and hospital wards right across Northern Ireland, I have been meeting staff working under tremendous pressure. They are the bedrock of the health service and I have heard and shared their frustration over the issue of pay.
“Stabilisation is one of the key pillars of my Three Year Plan, published last month, and central to that will be ensuring that staff are properly recognised and rewarded for the great work they do.”
In a statement, Dr Fiona Griffin, chair of BMA’s Northern Ireland resident doctors committee said she was glad members had voted to accept the offer, but added that there was still a “long way to go”.
“We are glad that members have accepted our recommendation to accept this pay offer,” she said.
“Taking industrial action was a last resort, but resident doctors could not keep working as they were without financial recognition for the incredible job they are doing under extremely difficult circumstances. We have been undervalued for too long.”
Resident doctors took strike action three times last year. The first was a 24-hour walk out in March, followed by two 48-hour periods of action in May and in June.
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The walkouts saw resident doctors withdraw their labour from hospitals and GP surgeries across NI.
Dr Griffin added: “This pay agreement is the first step towards full pay restoration. We still have a long way to go.
“Our members are committed to addressing years of pay erosion and making sure that the skills, knowledge and commitment of resident doctors in Northern Ireland is properly recognised.
“We will now work with the Department to address the inadequacies in our current contract and continue to fight for better terms and conditions for resident doctors, alongside restoring our pay to 2008 levels.
“These issues need to be addressed urgently so we don’t lose more doctors from our health service. Our fight continues.”