Why junior doctors in Scotland voted to strike

Junior doctors in Scotland will strike for three days in July after rejecting the Scottish government’s pay offer. Two thirds of eligible junior doctors turned out to vote on the pay deal, and 71 per cent rejected the offer. 

The 72-hour strike will take place from 7am on Wednesday 12 July to 6.59am on Saturday 15 July unless, the doctors’ union says, ‘an improved offer that the BMA believes it could credibly put to members’ is made by the Scottish government. 

Last month, Scotland’s junior doctors were offered a 6.5 per cent pay rise for this coming year. It was described as a 14.5 per cent pay increase by the SNP government, broken down into an extra 3 per cent increase added to an already agreed 4.5 per cent rise for the 2022/23 period – plus the 6.5 per cent hike for 2023/24. 

The Scottish government also suggested it would set up a ‘junior doctor pay bargaining review taskforce’ with BMA Scotland’s junior doctor committee, which would look to help medics in Scotland prevent pay erosion in the future.