Doctor Doctor

The doctors' trade union - the BMA (British Medical Association) - has decided to ballot its members on industrial action over the government's pension reforms.

Effectively the BMA is saying that its members should receive more favourable treatment than other people:

1 That doctors should be able to retire earlier than other workers
2 That other less well paid workers should subsidise a doctor's pension

Because that's what it boils down to - pure and simple.

I also heard one BMA person arguing that a typical doctor will also have to pay around around £70,000 in student fees to fund their way through university and medical school - which seems a bit steep to me.

But whatever the truth of the figures that's certainly not the case in Scotland - where there are no student fees of course.

So why would doctors in Scotland such a ridiculous argument - as a reason to take industrial action?

Significantly the BMA has already ruled out strike action - in which case what are they going to do that doesn't affect their patients care?

The BMA says that this will be the first time doctors have voted on industrial action since 1975 - which may be a long time ago, but so what?

The doctors don't have a case to be treated more favourably than anyone else - their jobs may be demanding but they are extremely well paid these days.

And on retiring a typical doctor will leave with an annual pension of £75,000 - more than three time the average salary in the UK.

Plus a tax free lump sum worth three times their annual pension or around £225,000.

So we'll see what happens in the ballot, but compared to most people - doctors are doing pretty well, I would say.