Dr Andrew Dearden, Chairman BMA Pensions Committee
Speech to ARM 2005
28 June 2005
The NHS Pension Scheme Reviews in each Nation have stirred up a hornets’ nest of anger and dissatisfaction amongst doctors, indeed, amongst all healthcare workers.
The positive proposals in the consultation document, and there are many of them, have been completely overshadowed by the threat to increase the Normal Pension Age and calculate pensions on a career average basis – the so called CARE scheme.
The BMA has been at the heart of discussions (and has been for some time now) and has been able to influence the proposals that were contained in the documents. We have never accepted the need to increase NPA to 65 and we will continue to fight for the most appropriate way of calculating pensions depending on your earnings pattern.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your input to the process. Over 5000 of you responded to the first survey we commissioned last year. A further 3500 responded to a second survey started in January this year. And in addition, more than 2500 put pen to paper (or at least finger to keyboard) and told us and/or your MP what you thought about the proposals – sometimes you told us what you really thought!
We know your feelings about your pensions now. Today’s motions will confirm those feelings and give us the policy to go forward with. Some have asked us why the BMA has not taken industrial action so far on this issue. For the moment it would not have been appropriate to take any industrial action as we were being asked what we thought about some options not firm proposals.
If the Government does not take any notice of what we feel and told them we feel about their proposed options then there very well may be a need to consider taking action in the future, and many of you have told us that you are prepared for this and will take it.
What has angered me most is the Government not being honest about their reasons for the Review. “Moving to a 21st Century Pension Scheme”; in Scotland “Working together for a 21st Century Pension Scheme”, was heralded as a modernisation of the pension arrangements and I quote “not a cost cutting issue”. It transpired part way through discussions that the Government expected the Review to ‘make savings’ and indeed this is now included in the text of the documentation. That is just dishonest.
BMA negotiators have recently been successful in negotiating new contracts for GPs and Consultants that have created increased salaries, and therefore increased pensions, and we are in discussions for SASC doctors to do exactly the same.
We would NOT accept a reduction in value of our remuneration while we are working and we will not accept a pay cut if they try to reduce our pensions.
If the Government seeks to save money on our pensions, if it seeks to bring in a pay cut by the back door, then we, the BMA, may very well seek to compensate for this by re-negotiating all doctors salary structures to replace the loss.
Your support will be required for some time yet. Thank you.
