HCSA, the hospital doctors’ union, has announced a formal ballot on strike action over pay for junior doctor members in Scotland.
Junior doctors in Scotland have faced pay erosion representing real-terms pay cuts of 23.5% since 2008. At a time of escalating inflation, the pay award for 2022-23 of 4.5% served only to worsen the outlook for junior doctors.
The ballot will open on Friday 14th April and close on Friday 5th May.
HCSA President Dr Naru Narayanan commented: “Junior doctors in Scotland will not be taken for granted anymore. They have worked tirelessly through the pandemic and beyond, plugging staffing gaps in an underfunded NHS and risking their own wellbeing to keep the service going.
"It is no wonder so many are looking at better paid jobs abroad or in the private sector. The Scottish Government must act to resolve this dispute. The new First Minister must face up to the strength of feeling from junior doctors and put forward a plan for pay restoration”.