We wrote to the Minister for health and social services making it clear that we had lost faith in the DDRB process, in a large part due to the sub-inflationary pay recommendations made by the pay review body. This letter notified her of our decision to withdraw from providing evidence to the DDRB.

We joined additional last-minute pay talks alongside other health unions, where the Welsh Government offered to increase the 2022/23 pay uplift from 4.5% to 6% and provide a one-off payment of 1.5%. These talks were to avert further strike action from other health unions. At that point, the BMA was not in a trade dispute with Welsh Government. As part of this, the Welsh Government also committed to the principle of full pay restoration to 2008 levels.

Although this pay award did not go anywhere near restoring consultant pay, we made the decision to vote to accept this offer. We did so because we were nearing the end of the 2022/23 pay year and because the Minister agreed as part of the offer to enter immediately into pay talks for 2023/24. We did not feel this would stymie our campaign for consultant pay restoration going forward and felt members could benefit from receiving additional pay in the 2022/23 pay year.

We were invited to attend pay talks for the 2023/24 pay year.

We made internal preparations to enter pay negotiations with the Welsh Government.

Alongside colleagues from the other secondary care branches of practice, we entered pay talks with the Welsh Government. Government officials attended but with no pay envelope in which to negotiate, noting that a cabinet meeting was still required to consider this. We used the opportunity to outline the importance of providing a fair pay offer to doctors and of restoring pay to 2008/09 levels.

Pay talks resumed. The Welsh Government provided an opening and final offer of 5% for consultants. This is the worst pay offer for consultants in the UK and is below even the DDRB recommendation for 2023/24. Our negotiation team withdrew from talks on the basis that no credible pay offer was on the table.

The BMA’s Welsh consultants committee (WCC) held an extraordinary meeting to consider the pay offer and unanimously decided to ballot members on taking industrial action. 

BMA’s UK Council considered and approved the WCC application to ballot for industrial action.

We wrote to the Welsh Government confirming BMA UK Council approval for balloting and making clear our willingness to come back to the negotiation table if a credible pay offer was made.

Consultants in Wales voted in favour of taking industrial action over pay.

Turnout:

• Number of individuals who were entitled to vote in the ballot: 2006
• Number of votes cast in the ballot: 1395
• Votes cast in the ballot as a % of individuals who were entitled to vote: 69.54%
• Number of spoilt or otherwise invalid voting papers returned: 2

Result of voting

• Yes: 1192 (85.57%)
• No: 201 (14.43%)