Clinical academic staff threaten sanctions over pay

University employers have told clinical academic staff that they cannot afford to match their pay to that of hospital doctors in the NHS unless the government provides additional funding. The government has refused and the doctors have been offered a pay award of 1.5%, the same increase as offered to other groups of university staff.

The profession has declined the universities' offer, and the BMA council resolved last week that if the Universities and Colleges Employers Association has not agreed to translate the award by the time of its January meeting clinical academic appointments in universities and medical schools will be included in the Important Notice in the BMJ. This advises members to contact the secretary of the BMA before applying for such posts.

The government accepted the recommendation of the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration in its 1996 report for an average increase for NHS doctors of 3.8%. Since 1979 the universities have been able to maintain broad comparability with government support. This year not only did the government refuse extra funds, but it cut university funding by 2.1%. The cost of maintaining pay parity is £4.8m.

The chairman of the Clinical Academic Staff Salaries Committee, Professor Philip Love, said that he had been pressing ministers to stand by the commitment given in 1986 that whenever there was a shortfall in university funding compared with the NHS extra cash would be provided to enable pay parity to be maintained. “Ministers have refused and do not seem to understand the …