Doctors in WA will receive a 4.75% pay rise just in time for Christmas after months of negotiations.
WA Health and the AMA WA agreed on a new three year pay deal for all staff under the WA Health System – Medical Practitioners – AMA Industrial Agreement 2024 in September.
The deal came into effect on December 2 and will see all staff employed under the agreement receive a 4.75% pay increase back paid from 3 September 2024.
Staff will then receive a pay increase of 3.75% in September 2025 and 3% in September 2026.
Other allowances to boost recruitment and retention were also agreed, including a $4000 support payment for doctors in training to assist with training expenses and a commitment to review on call and recall payments within the next two years.
AMA WA President Dr Michael Page said the agreement recognises that medical pay in the public sector has been stagnant for a number of years.
“Doctors, especially junior doctors, aren’t necessarily on huge salaries and they’re not immune to cost of living pressures that the rest of the community has experienced.
“Junior doctors in particular are paying huge amounts of money for their specialty training.
“The $4000 payment on top of the percentage increases to junior doctors’ pay is really important. To at least recognise partially the huge cost of training in the form of salary or extra incentives on top of salary is a very good thing.”
Doctors under both Alesco and Lattice payroll will receive their first pay under the new terms on December 19.
Those on Alesco will also receive their salary back payments on December 19, but those on Lattice will have to wait until January 16 for their back pay.
Members of the AMA initially rejected WA Health’s first offer in June, which the union said fell short in key areas, particularly in relation to the attraction and retention of medical practitioners in WA – a significant concern for rural and remote areas.
Dr Page said the State relies heavily on overseas and interstate recruitment, adding that while recruiting in Perth can be a challenge it is even harder in rural and remote areas.
“Our health system is quite vulnerable because our medical workforce hasn’t been adequately planned and we’re too reliant on doctors not trained in WA,” he said.
“Part of this is about attraction and retention. If the State Government is not committed to our State becoming more self-sufficient in training specialists and wants to continue being reliant on the migration of doctors from overseas, then it actually needs to also pay sufficiently to incentivise doctors to come to WA and stay in WA.”
The agreement goes some way to addressing GP shortages, particularly in rural and remote areas, under a commitment to modernise the GP classification structure to recognise more practitioners as specialists.
“That’s particularly relevant to regional areas where GPs might be working in hospitals, in EDS, doing obstetrics, doing procedural type work or looking after in-patients in regional hospitals,” Dr Page said.
“If GPs are appropriately recognised as specialists and paid accordingly that’s a huge leap forward. It’s important because it’s an equal pay for equal work issue and will help us attract and retain GPs in regional areas.”