Ballot on industrial action now open

This is a postal ballot, open from Tuesday 19 November to Monday 23 December.

We are encouraging all eligible members to vote YES when they receive their ballot papers in the post. The last safe posting date is Monday 16 December to ensure votes are received by the deadline.

Am I eligible to vote?

The ballot covers all branches of practice employed by Manx Care – consultants, SAS, LEDs and residents. If you are a BMA member and employed by Manx Care then you are eligible to vote and have your say on taking industrial action.

How we got here

Since 2008, all doctors on the Isle of Man have suffered real terms pay cuts year after year. For example, between April 2008 and April 2023, inflation increased by 56.3% on the island, while the maximum consultant’s salary increased by just 27.3% over the same period.  

Earlier this year, we requested a fair and reasonable 12.6% pay increase to go some way towards addressing this pay erosion, but Manx Care have been intransigent in their refusal.  

While doctors across the UK have been fighting for full pay restoration and making progress towards that goal, doctors on the Isle of Man have been forgotten. Pay scales on the island are significantly lower than those of colleagues in the UK, with resident doctors and SAS doctors being the worst affected. It is time for Manx Care to make pay fair. 

Manx Care’s unwillingness to negotiate means this ballot is the logical and inevitable next step. We have already carried out an indicative ballot and of those who responded (108 out of 155), 84% said they were willing to take Industrial Action. What’s more, a recent survey designed by the NHS and Kings’ College London sent to all doctors directly employed by Manx Care also produced some damning results.  

Of those who responded to the survey: 

• only 15% would recommend Manx Care as a good place to work 
• 81% disagreed with the statement “Manx Care has a positive culture” 
• 67% believe they do not have the resources they need to do a good job 
• and only 20% agreed that they have sufficient time to do their job well. 

We need to start with fixing pay and Manx Care have left us no option but to move towards Industrial Action in pursuit of that goal.