BMA chairs said they were “very disappointed and disappointed” by the meeting.
The union representing doctors has said it is “extremely disappointed” after wage negotiations with Northern Ireland health officials.
Trade unions, including the British Medical Association (BMA), met with Department of Health (DoH) officials on Thursday.
In a joint statement, the BMA expressed disappointment after the meeting and called for further involvement from the Ministry of Defense.
In a statement to BBC News NI, the DoH said it would continue to advance negotiations with trade unions and “remains hopeful that a solution satisfactory to all parties can be reached.”
They said they were “acutely aware of the pressures facing doctors and the concerns raised about pay”, with Health Minister Robin Swann saying “resolving the ongoing pay dispute is our immediate priority”. It is stated clearly.
BMA chairs of the Northern Ireland Junior Doctors Committee, the SAS Committee (representing specialist doctors) and the Consultants Committee said after Thursday’s meeting that dissatisfaction remained.
However, the joint statement said that after discussions with Defense Ministry officials, those expectations “ultimately turned to disappointment.”
“I was disappointed and disappointed.”
BMA chairs said the only pay rise offered by department officials was a “6% pay rise on inflation for 2023/24” and that “this will not be awarded until the end of April”.
It also said that further salary increases would only be negotiated after the conclusion of the ongoing Westminster salary negotiations with UK doctors.
BMA chairs argued that this left no room for promised engagement and described the meeting as “deeply disappointing and discouraging”.
They said that “only salaries above inflation will be awarded” and “a commitment to working towards the restoration of full salaries will solve the health workforce crisis we have in Northern Ireland”.
The Department of Health says resolving the ongoing pay dispute is an “immediate priority” for Health Minister Robin Swann.
In response, the department said it would continue to engage with the BMA “to discuss proposals to move forward on outstanding issues”.
This includes a promise to further engage with doctors’ pay, with “better information” on doctors’ pay once there is “more clarity” on the outcome of industrial action taken by doctors in the UK. “You can get it,” he said.
They said this would allow the MoD to “continue to progress negotiations with trade unions” after the executive branch allocated £550.6m to the Department of Health to resolve public sector pay agreements. He said it would be possible.
They said they remained hopeful that a solution would be reached that was satisfactory to all parties.