BMA staff vote for strike action over pay erosion

Hundreds of staff employed by the British Medical Association have voted in favour of strike action following a dispute over pay.

GMB Union, which represents the workers, said 96% voted to walk out on an 80% turnout.

Strike action is scheduled to take place over 48 hours, from 00.01 on Friday 27th March to 23.59 on Saturday 28th March.

The dispute centres on pay erosion, with union figures indicating that staff salaries have declined by nearly 17% in real terms since 2012 due to below-inflation pay awards.

GMB said it moved to ballot members after pay negotiations at ACAS failed to reach an agreement, citing dissatisfaction with the offers put forward by the BMA.

Gavin Davies, senior organiser at GMB Union, said: “This ballot result reflects the strength of feeling inside the BMA.

Staff are angry and disappointed that the pay deal offered doesn’t match inflation and doesn’t begin to address the real terms pay cut they’ve experienced.

BMA staff have tirelessly supported resident doctors in their fight for improved pay.