Doctors strike 'only way' to secure fair pay deal

Planned strike action by doctors was the only way to get Manx Care to listen to concerns over pay, a union has said.

The forthcoming two-day walkout by British Medical Association (BMA) members, which will be the first of its kind on the island, is set to begin at 07:00 on 22 January.

The union previously called for a 12.6% uplift for the 2023-24 pay award, which Manx Care said was "unaffordable" and instead implemented an interim 6% rise.

Local negotiation committee member Prakash Thiagarajan said while doctors did not want to strike they felt they had "no other way of bringing Manx Care back to the negotiating table".

The BMA argued pay for some of its members had faced "real term cuts" of up to 19% in since 2008.

Manx Care said it had revised its existing offer of a 6% uplift for the 2023-24 year and a further 4% rise for 2024-25 in December to match salaries in England, which it said was "not accepted" by the union last week.

Dr Thiagarajan, who is also the chairman of the Isle of Man Medical Society, said: "None of us doctors want to strike, that's not our business, our business is looking after patients."

However he said they needed to make sure Manx Care was aware that they were "serious" about taking action, and it was "not an empty threat".

The requested increase to wages was "not just for us" but also for the Manx community.

"We want to be able to attract the best doctors to the island and retain the best talent in the region with competitive wages," he said.

"If we can have a happy, motivated medical workforce that attracts high calibre doctors, that will benefit the public in the long run."

Following the announcement of the planned action, Manx Care said it remained in discussions with the BMA in a bid to resolve the dispute.

In a statement, the healthcare provider said "operational planning" was underway to "minimise the impact on patients and service users".

It confirmed essential and emergency services would continue during the 48-hour walkout, but said most non-urgent services would be paused to "prioritise critical care and patient safety".

The majority of GP practices, dentists and pharmacies would be unaffected and patients would be contacted if clinics needed to be stepped down, it added.

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