The chair of the BDA’s principal executive committee, Mick Armstrong, has this week written to secretary of state for Health Jeremy Hunt reiterating the profession’s outrage at the decision and urging him to reconsider it.
Armstrong’s letter argues that, given that even the recommended one per cent uplift would still have represented a pay cut in real terms, the decision not to universally apply an award of such a modest amount will be seen as a ‘kick in the teeth’ for a group that has already suffered successive real-terms pay freezes.
Reiterating the view expressed by the DDRB itself, the letter underlines the unacceptability of the decision to offset incremental pay increases against an uplift, arguing that it undermines the fundamental principle on which pay scales are based. Increments, the letter stresses, reflect the growing skills and experience of dentists and are not a substitute for the annual pay rise which is needed to meet increasing living costs as a result of inflation.
In ignoring the DDRB’s recommendations the Government is taking a decision which will negatively impact on staff morale as well as having long-term consequences for the NHS pay system, Armstrong warns.