Background to the ballot
The Doctors’ and Dentists’ Pay Review Body (DDRB) has recommended an uplift of 3.5% for 2026/27.
This is not acceptable; it does not address years of pay erosion or recognise the huge contribution SAS doctors are making to keep the health service in Northern Ireland functioning.
Persistent pay erosion is contributing to early retirement, quiet quitting, reduced discretionary effort, and colleagues leaving the profession. Pay is a key factor in making Northern Ireland an attractive place to train, work and remain in practice.
Following the announcement from the DDRB this year, we met with the health minister to discuss the pay award. We made clear the level of the award does not come close to our expectations of being substantial enough to make credible progress towards achieving full pay restoration to 2008 levels and to prevent pay erosion recurring in the future.
The minister was unable to commit to either improving the offer or even assure it would be paid promptly. Therefore, we have decided to move to a statutory ballot of SAS members in Northern Ireland on taking industrial action.
What brought us to this point?
In 2024, your Northern Ireland SAS committee (NISASC) was able to negotiate improvements for SAS doctors without a single day of strike action, using a unanimous indicative ballot result. This collective strength secured a pay deal that gave you consolidated pay uplifts for both open and closed contracts, and non-pay commitments to facilitate career progression. This deal should have benefitted our pay for years to come and set us on the journey to restoring our pay and career progression.
Instead, successive, late, sub-inflationary pay awards have undermined morale and served to drive SAS doctors away from the health service. Our pay is still 25.8% lower on the closed contracts and 23.4% lower on the open contracts respectively in real terms than it was 18 years ago (when compared with current RPI inflation), yet we are working harder than ever before.
The above graphs show the range of pay erosion from the lowest percentage in the years with variable pay uplifts to the highest percentage
The above graphs show the range of pay erosion from the lowest percentage in the years with variable pay uplifts to the highest percentage
In addition to this, delivery of the non-pay asks secured as part of the 2024 pay agreement have been delayed despite our continued lobbying. This is unacceptable.
Unless we stand together and show our strength, pay erosion will continue. We need to demonstrate clearly again to the government that SAS doctors are all willing to take action to restore our value, our pay, our pensions and ultimately protect patient care.
What you can do
SAS doctors should get ready for strike action by:
- updating your details to ensure you are receiving our communications
- using the SAS BMA NI rate card for any extra work undertaken for your employer
- joining the BMA and encouraging your colleagues to do so.
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