Next steps for resident doctors in Northern Ireland
NIRDC has confirmed our acceptance of the pay offer. This is a positive step towards full pay restoration.
The ballot was open to BMA resident doctor members. Of those who voted 94.26% voted to accept the offer. The turnout was 61.48%.
Read full details of the offer
Dr Fiona Griffin, NIRDC chair said, “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.”
About pay deductions for strike days
Pay deductions for strike days
After initiating legal action challenging the methodology used to calculate pay deductions from resident doctors who go on strike, NIRDC (Northern Ireland resident doctors committee) have reached an agreement with DoH and SLE / NIMDTA to resolve this issue.
NIRDC chair, Dr Fiona Griffin, said: “I am pleased we were able to reach a satisfactory agreement with SLE / NIMDTA that resolves this problem that caused needless stress to many resident doctors simply for exercising their right to strike.
“You may have voted to accept the pay offer, however the fight for full pay restoration continues. I would encourage you all to update your place of work details and contact details here so you can receive all future communications from us in a timely manner should we have to ballot for strike action again”
Strike deductions Q&A
Please read our Q&A on how the strike deductions and reimbursement will impact you.
If you feel you have been impacted by incorrect pay deductions as a result of taking strike action, please contact SLE immediately. Please also flag this with BMA by logging your query through our first point of contact service.
About our campaign
Calculating resident doctor pay erosion in Northern Ireland
Our initial calculations show that our pay has been eroded by 30.7% since 2008 when compared with RPI inflation. This is a huge loss to our pay and our living standards that fails to reflect the responsibility, training, and sacrifices required of our work. It’s causing a workforce crisis as fewer and fewer trainees choose to stay in Northern Ireland to train.
We have made some progress to address this erosion, however we continue to call for full pay restoration for resident doctors to at least 2008 levels to make up for this long term, demoralising and undermining deterioration in pay.
The effects of pay erosion
Our pay erosion isn’t just affecting us. It also has an effect on the health service in Northern Ireland. Sub-inflationary pay increases have meant it is now less attractive to work and train in Northern Ireland. We are seeing a workforce crisis emerge from our eroded pay because there are better options elsewhere. This retention and recruitment crisis facing the health service is a risk to its future in Northern Ireland.
Example
The 2024/25 GP training programme intake had posts for 121 trainees, however, NIMDTA has confirmed that only 109 trainees commenced in August 2024.
With better pay, we will incentivise more doctors who studied in Northern Ireland to stay and doctors outside of Northern Ireland to come and work here. With more doctors, our rotas will be less intense and we will all have more time for training.
What we're asking for
We are asking the Department of Health, Employers, and our Assembly to do the following:
This means:
- Full pay restoration for junior doctors in Northern Ireland to 2008 levels.
Read more on pay erosion to see why we're calling for it.
Trusts to commit to complying with the BMA fatigue and facilities charter, with a focus on urgent introduction of safe working limits to fix rotas.
Here's why:
- Junior doctors in Northern Ireland do not have the same rest protections and rota design requirements as elsewhere in the UK. 49% of trainees in Northern Ireland reported working above their rostered hours – higher than the UK average of 42%.
- Exhausting, understaffed rotas impacts on training time required for career development. Significantly more trainees in Northern Ireland (38%) have reported that rota gaps were not being sufficiently dealt with than in the UK as a whole (29%).
Introduction of a trainee guarantee for access to scheduled training, including study leave for F1s.
Here's why:
- Workload pressures are causing the quality of training to deteriorate significantly, particularly for foundation trainees. Almost half (46%) of trainees in Northern Ireland reported significant increase in workload intensity on dayshifts and on nightshifts (20%).
- Lack of training opportunities impacts trainees’ career progression, creating more staffing gaps in higher grades. 21% of trainees in Northern Ireland reported a lack of protected time for completion of all the mandatory training requirements of their post. This was higher than elsewhere in the UK (17%)
- Training protections will be essential to tackling our waiting list crisis.
Commitment from the Department of Health to entering contract negotiations on a reformed junior doctor contract that improves workplace protections, facilities, working hours and recognition.
Here's why:
- The existing contract does not match the reality of training in 2023.
- A new contract is needed that creates a good working environment conducive to training to incentivise junior doctors to stay in training in Northern Ireland.
BMA strike fund - donate now
A strike fund is available to subsidise members in serious financial difficulty who otherwise couldn’t afford to take part in any future rounds of strike action.
The strike fund is supported through voluntary donations to make available to doctors in need.
Keep up to date with our campaign on the NIRDC X (Twitter) and Instagram accounts.
Become a pay activist
-
Help build a team at your workplace that drives our campaign locally.
-
Share your ideas to help BMA Northern Ireland develop our campaign.
-
Recruit new BMA members to strengthen our voice calling for full pay restoration.
-
Join or start local events, meetings and activities in support of the campaign.
Campaign resources
Download a range of campaign materials to share on social media and in your communal work and rest areas.
We're here to stand up for your rights, support you in the workplace and champion the medical profession.
As of 18 September, all references to junior doctors in BMA communications have been changed to ‘resident doctors’.
Making up nearly 25% of all doctors in the UK, this cohort will now have a title that better reflects their huge range of skills and responsibilities.
Find out more about why junior doctors are now known as 'resident doctors'.