The biggest industrial unrest in NHS history could be coming to an end as unions have agreed a deal with Government.
An ambulance strike planned for next week has been suspended and the deal will now go to a vote of NHS union members whether to accept and permanently halt the walk-outs.
After three months of strikes, the Government has offered a one off bonus this year of 2.5% for the best paid and 8.2% for the worst paid.
The offer, recommended by most of the main NHS unions, comes on top of the 4% increase already implemented for 2022/23.
This award had come with inflation at over 10% and had sparked the strikes.
Tense negotiations late into the night also resulted in an offer of a 5% rise for 2023/24 - an increase on the Government’s initial offer of 3.5%.
Rachel Harrison, national secretary of the GMB union, said: “Thanks to the strength and hard work of GMB’s NHS members, the Government has gone from refusing to talk about pay this year to putting an extra £2.5 billion on the table.
“GMB members should rightly be proud of themselves. It’s been a tough road but they have faced down the Department of Health and won an offer that we feel is the best that can be achieved at this stage through negotiation.
“If the offer is accepted then it would meet a key GMB demand of a huge pay uplift for the lowest paid to keep them well above the Real Living Wage.
“This offer is far from perfect, and of course our NHS workers deserve more.
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GMB's national committee is recommending that the offer be accepted – but the final decision belongs to our members.”
The deal for most NHS staff on the main for Agenda for Change contract will now be scrutinised and compared to a deal agreed on Thursday with union members in Scotland.
One bone of contention in England will be that the additional 2.5% to 8.2% pay offered for 2022/23 comes in the form of a one-off payment and not a “consolidated” pay rise, to be built on in the following years’ deal.
The following consolidated 5% rise for 2023/24 could also end up being lower than the rate of inflation.
UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: "Following days of intensive talks between the government, unions and employers, there's now an offer on the table for NHS staff.
"If accepted, the offer would boost pay significantly this year and mean a wage increase next year that's more than the Government had budgeted for.
"UNISON will now be putting this offer to the hundreds of thousands of health members in the union in the next few weeks, recommending acceptance.”
The NHS deal for England will see some of the lowest paid workers effectively get an extra 17.2% over two years, while better paid staff will get 12.5% extra.
Much of this is in the form of a one-off payment but it will dwarf pay being offered by the Tories to the rest of the public sector.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said: "It is right that we reward our hardworking NHS staff, who showed bravery and dedication throughout the pandemic and continue to make phenomenal progress to tackle waiting lists," he said.
"Importantly this deal is also affordable for the taxpayer and continues to deliver on my promise to halve inflation.
"We have taken a reasonable approach throughout and this offer is good for NHS staff, it's good for the taxpayer and most importantly it is good news for patients whose care will no longer be disrupted by strike action."
Health Secretary Steve Barclay was asked if he had been blocked from making a one-off payment offer for 2022/23 before now.
He said: "My job is to make the case for the NHS within Government.
"Of course that is something that I have been doing over recent months but we make these decisions collectively.
"I'm very pleased we've reached a settlement which the NHS Staff Council feel able to recommend to their members."
It comes as a major NHS union in Scotland voted to accept a consolidated pay increase of 6.5% in total for 2023/24.
GMB members, which include staff from porters to paramedics, voted to approve the deal by a majority of 60%.
It came on top of a previously agreed rise for 2022/23 of 7.5% for staff north of the border.
The Scottish deal works out as a consolidated rise of up to 14% on average over two years.
GMB Scotland organiser Keir Greenaway said: “If ministers want to seriously tackle the understaffing crisis in our health service and recruit and retain the people needed to build a recovery of our broken NHS, then the bar must continue to rise for the pay and conditions of staff in the years to come.”
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), Unison, Unite, GMB and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy are among the unions which have been in negotiations for England with ministers for a fortnight.
The RCN said the one-off payment for 2022/23 is worth between £1,655 and £3,789.
RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen, said: “The Government was forced into these negotiations and to reopen the pay award as a result of the historic pressure from nursing staff. Members took the hardest of decisions to go on strike and I believe they have been vindicated today.
“After tough negotiations, there are a series of commitments here that our members can see will make a positive impact on the nursing profession, the NHS and the people who rely on it.
“Our members will have their say on it and I respect everybody’s perspective. Each should look closely at what it means for them.
“It is not a panacea, but it is real tangible progress and the RCN’s member leaders are asking fellow nursing staff to support what our negotiations have secured.”
The RCN said the Government has agreed to create a new “pay spine exclusively for all nursing staff” from 2024/25.
Unite said it could not recommend that its members vote to approve the Government’s offer.
However it could be implemented if members of most unions vote to accept.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Following months and months of unnecessary delay, the Government finally gets into the negotiating room.
“They need to take full responsibility for their dither and delay, which has caused unnecessary pain to both staff and patients in the NHS.
“It is clear that the Government has been forced into negotiations and the subsequent move, because of strike action and the support of the public for the NHS.
“The offer from Government is not one that Unite can recommend to our members, but ultimately it is important that our members make the final decision.
“Unite will support members in whichever decision they now make. As Unite members are being consulted strike action will be paused.”
The Government has also pledged a series of “non-pay measures” to support the NHS workforce, including support for nursing staff, money towards career development and tackling violence.
Confirming the deal, a statement from Government said “The Government and the NHS Staff Council – which brings together NHS employers and unions representing the Agenda for Change workforce – have completed negotiations and reached a final offer.
“This includes additional pay for 2022/23 and a pay settlement for 2023/24.
“Both sides believe it represents a fair and reasonable settlement that acknowledges the dedication of NHS staff, while acknowledging the wider economic pressures currently facing the UK.
“Those unions with mandates for industrial action RCN, UNISON, GMB, CSP, Unite and BDA will now consult their members in consultations that will be held over the coming weeks.
“Strike action will continue to be paused while these ballots are ongoing.”
Doctors are not part of the main Agenda for Change contract so their planned strikes will continue.
