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Senior doctors in Wales are holding a vote whether to follow their junior colleagues and go on strike in a dispute over pay.

Union BMA Cymru Wales are balloting secondary care doctors on industrial action after negotiations over pay broke down last year.

Junior doctors went on a three-day strike from January 15 over a similar pay dispute.

The BMA rejected a 5% uplift for consultants, junior, and specialty and associate specialist (SAS) doctors. SAS doctors on some contracts were awarded 1.5%, while other on more recent ones were awarded 2.5%.

Although it was rejected by the British Medical Association, the Welsh Government went ahead and imposed the pay increase.

The strike ballots, which will be open to all BMA consultant and SAS doctor members in Wales, are set to run concurrently for six weeks closing on March 4.

The 5% in Wales is the lowest pay increase of the UK nations. In England doctors were offered a 6% rise in July.

BMA Cymru Wales claims that over the past 15 years, consultants and SAS doctors in Wales have experienced a pay cut of almost a third.

Dr Stephen Kelly, chair of BMA Cymru Wales consultants committee, said: “Whilst no doctor wants to strike, years of chronic underinvestment in the NHS workforce in has led us here. With rising waiting lists, demand has completely outstretched capacity in NHS Wales. Colleagues regularly tell me things are worse than they ever have been and subsequently choose to retire early or leave NHS Wales.

“Doctors and patients deserve better than this. Investing in staff retention should be the Welsh Government’s number one priority when looking to improve NHS services and so quite simply we have run out of options.”

A Welsh Government spokesperson has previously called the ballot “disappointing” and said a better pay deal was not possible without additional UK Government funding.

Contract negotiations between Welsh Government, NHS Wales and BMA Cymru Wales’ GP committee ended without resolution in October. The doctors’ union said general practice could “collapse” without further funding.