There's multiple issues at play here - some of which we're allowed to strike over, others, we are not - such as the pension taxation situation, or general understaffing, or the 'future of the NHS'... We can only legally strike over contract terms and pay, I have no expectation that we will get offered anything like the ~30% rise for full pay restoration, but the hope will be that we may get offered something else like fixes to the pension taxation, inflationary pay-rises going forward, or some concessions on all of the other things that make working life miserable like reduced secretarial support, loss of offices, car parking, etc etc.
If you think that consultant's pay is commensurate with their skills / responsibility, then you also must think that our pay was 30% too high in 2008.
For context, I take home roughly £1000 / week for 56 hours of clinical work / admin and do maybe 10-12 hours of clinical leadership roles, professional development in my own time. From that I'll need to pay for professional fees, courses, society memberships, GMC etc which is around 10-15% of that £1000 depending on whether or not I go to any of the big annual society meetings and 1.2% of my salary just for car parking.
This week, I've operated on three legs, preventing them from being amputated, I've also operated on 4 ankle fractures and 1 severely injured polytrauma patient. In clinic I will see 60 patients this week, and I have 26 ward inpatients.
In surgical value alone - That's about £100 per patient for life saving / life changing / limb preserving surgery, per patient I've seen and treated it's around £10 per patient, which seems like pretty good value to me... I'm pretty sure the family of the lady who will walk out of hospital next week rather than leaving in a wheelchair thinks it is....
I disagree with the 'you knew what you were getting in to' argument, yes in 2000 I did - and doctors salaries were worth about 30% more in real terms than they are now - In 2006 I easily afforded my first house on one salary, then sadly had to sell it and move halfway across the country in 2009 to take up a training place with an 1500:1 competition ratio, right at the dip in prices - in negative equity and losing £30k in the process, I've lost child benefit, 22% of my predicted pension value with increased contribution rate on top, and the salary is 32% lower in real terms than it would have been - none of that was predictable.
The reality is that I live in a £190k 4 bedroom terrace in a cheap area in the north of the country (although it has a nice garden), have never taken my family on a holiday abroad, never bought a brand new car and have no savings - which is the reality for most doctors of my age (early 40s).
Quite honestly I do believe that we deserve better, the Government argument that doctors and nurses are too important to strike, and patients will be harmed, but simultaneously arguing that they're not worth a payrise is ridiculous - 'Schroedinger's healthcare professional'?.. anyone?
The reality is that doctors will leave - one of my colleagues has just moved to Dubai - he's on around £300k for his first year plus £45k per quarter bonus for meeting targets, and from next year his salary will double, then treble as he gets 1% then 2% commission on all of the work he does, he also gets chauffeured between hospitals. All I want is payrises that keep pace with inflation, free car parking and a bit of professional autonomy.