Offer 'first step' towards doctor pay restoration
BBCA proposed 8% pay rise for doctors on the Isle of Man is the "first major step" towards pay restoration, a union has said.
British Medical Association (BMA) members were set to strike for 48 hours on Wednesday, but action was called off while the deal from Manx Care is considered.
Local negotiation committee member Prakash Thiagarajan said most doctors accepted it was "the best offer we can get" in the current economic climate.
But he said he was "reasonably confident" the majority of members would support the deal after an online survey was issued imminently.
If accepted, the new deal would see an 8% pay uplift for 2023-24, and 8% for the current year, with the 2024-25 award broken down into 6% backdated to 1 April last year with a further 2% added from 1 February 2025.
The BMA argued pay for some of its members had faced "real term cuts" of up to 19% since 2008.
The union had called for a 12.6% uplift for 2023-24, but that was rejected as "unaffordable" by Manx Care.
The island's health care provider is facing a £16.8m deficit this financial year, and has been tasked with making savings in a bid to balance its books.
Dr Thiagarajan said while the offer was "the first major step towards pay restoration", doctors could not "rest here".
"But it is an acknowledgement that doctors did deserve this pay rise," he said.
"We recognise the economic situation in the island and with Manx Care, as such this offer is the best that we could achieve at this stage."
Asking for an improved offer would have "necessitated prolonged and sustained industrial action, which doctors did not want to take", he added.
Chairman of the BMA council Phil Banfield said doctors had been dedicated to "improving their lives on the island", and should not feel as though they "have to go for jobs elsewhere".
He said it had been "disappointing" strike action had been called for, but the new offer "demonstrated a commitment to valuing the skills and expertise of doctors".
The move was an "opportunity to reset the relationship between Manx Care and its doctors, and that is of benefit to the public", he added.
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