Manx Care expecting doctor pay counter proposal

Manx Care has confirmed it is expecting a counter proposal from a union representing doctors who are set to strike next week in a dispute over pay.

The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced its members would walk out for 48 hours from 07:00 on 22 January following unsuccessful negotiations.

The union has previously called for a 12.6% pay rise for 2023-24, which was rejected by Manx Care as "unaffordable".

The health care provider said it was "disappointed" the union had chosen to take strike action next week while negotiations to find a resolution were still "active".

In a statement, it said it was "critical" for it to focus on "finalising our planning for the industrial action days to ensure the impact to patients and service users is minimised" as well as "trying to resolve the dispute".

"It would therefore be inappropriate for us to comment more extensively at this time", it added.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said Manx Care and the BMA were "working hard jointly to arrive at a settlement that is both fair on pay and affordable within the budget".

While the basis of an improved offer was "actively being discussed" the department respected the "right of the workforce to take action", the department said.

The DHSC was supporting Manx Care in "reducing the impact of any action on patients and the public" with details of the mitigation plans made public "once the precise details of the action have become clearer", it said.

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.

Last month, 95% of BMA members balloted, which included doctors, salaried dentists and consultants, said they were prepared to strike.

Announcing the planned action on Tuesday, the BMA confirmed doctors would "operate under Christmas day cover" on the strike days, which would see many services "limited", but emergency care would remain available for those who needed it.

Chairman of the Isle of Man Medical Society Prakash Thiagarajan previously said doctors "have no desire to go on strike", but the "pay cuts we've seen over the last decade have become untenable".

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