Hundreds of doctors in the ACT have begun industrial action over wages they say are the second lowest in the country for medics.

From Monday morning, about 300 members of the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation are ignoring calls outside rostered hours and refusing certain administrative tasks.

These would be the first steps in a campaign that could escalate to stop-work meetings if the pay issue was not resolved, according to the union’s ACT president, Associate Professor Jeffrey Looi.

Doctors had little choice after the ACT Government had refused to budge from its original pay deal — 8% over three years — which would have sent doctors backwards financially, the Canberra psychiatrist said.