The body representing doctors has raised the possibility of industrial action due to dissatisfaction over a planned pay rise.

The British Medical Association (BMA) in Northern Ireland has said it aims to poll its members on whether they would accept the 4% rise that they are in line for.

This action is called an “indicative ballot”. If it shows that “the feeling is strong enough” then the BMA “will move to have a full ballot for industrial action”.

The BMA has not said what range of pay rise would be acceptable.

placeholder image — A general image of a doctor with a stethoscope; consultants in Northern Ireland are to be asked their views on a 4% pay hike (photo by Hannah McKay - Pool/Getty Images)

The Department of Health has responded that consultants already saw an increase in consultant pay of 11.25% last year.

Consultants earn between £106,424 and £139,920 in Northern Ireland.

One of the BMA’s arguments is that consultants in the Republic of Ireland earn “quite significantly” more, therefore Northern Ireland needs to avoid widening the gap between the two jurisidictions (according to the Republic’s Health Service Executive, consultants start on the equivalent of around £186,000).

The government’s Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration (DDRB) recommended a 4% pay rise for doctors of different stripes and dentists from spring 2025 onwards.

Now the BMA has announced that is in a “formal dispute” with the Department of Health over the issue.

Dr David Farren, chairman of the BMA’s Northern Ireland Consultants Committee, said that his de facto trade union is faced with trying to “reverse years of below-inflation pay awards”.

“The DDRB recommendation of a 4% uplift for this financial year does not align with our aim of full pay restoration and reneges on efforts to address years of pay erosions for consultants that is now up to 26%,” he said.

"Not only that, this uplift has again yet to be paid to consultants and other doctors in Northern Ireland as it has elsewhere in the UK, as the health minister tells us he does not have the money to do so.

“Year after year of missed promises and deadlines on pay uplifts and then reneging on prioritising pay in his budget is demoralising… It is insulting and no longer acceptable.”

He said the BMA is “still willing to engage with the department on resolving this issue, however we will now move to gather the views of consultants on what our next steps will be through an indicative ballot”.

The department said: “The health minister wants to see the recommended health service pay awards implemented in Northern Ireland as soon as possible...

"The 4% uplift recommended for consultants this year is on top of the average 11.25% increase in consultant pay over the past year.”

It also directed the News Letter to a statement made by Mr Nesbitt in May, in which he said the recommended pay rise would cost “circa £200m”, and would push his department’s funding shortfall to some £600m.

However, he added: “I do not believe an overspend should be viewed as inevitable. The risk can be countered through a combination of factors including in-year additional monies, Executive-wide prioritisation and a sustained drive by the health and social care system to secure savings and efficiencies.”

He also said: “I suspect some members who were urging me to give the BMA what they wanted will this week be lecturing me on staying within my budget.

"Members of this house cannot have it both ways – telling me to make savings while also demanding on a daily basis that I increase spending in many different areas.”

Junior doctors (which the BMA calls “resident doctors”) had gone on strike last year in a dispute over pay.

This ended in January this year, when they accepted a roughly 13.6% pay rise.