Ministers plan to impose a pay deal on NHS workers even as nurses continue to reject it, the Observer understands, as health service unions prepare to hold crunch talks on the package this week.
Both the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the Unite unions continue to oppose the deal offered to NHS workers, after protracted negotiations that have led to strikes and hampered attempts to shorten waiting lists. All 12 unions involved in the talks will gather on Tuesday to vote on whether to accept an improved deal covering the last two years.
Should the unions opposing an agreement be outvoted, sources said that ministers would simply press on and apply the agreement. The move is apparently designed to isolate the RCN, which will begin another strike on Sunday.
Health unions will debate the deal during a meeting of the NHS staff council on Tuesday. Most insiders expect it to be voted through, despite some continued opposition. It comes amid warnings of a crisis of morale within the NHS before the new strike action.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said there were now “serious issues” about recruitment that went beyond the current pay talks. “I talk to NHS leaders all the time and I have never known a period when leaders are so worried about staff morale and there is a sense of a loss of hope,” he told the BBC. “We have 120,000-plus of vacancies in the health service.”
Pat Cullen, the RCN general secretary, said it was “disingenuous” to claim that the continuing problems with treatment delays were down to strikes.
The deal on offer would give NHS staff in England, apart from doctors and dentists, a one-off, non-consolidated payment of between £1,250 and £2,000 for 2022-23, on top of the £1,400 rise in basic pay they have already received. It also includes a 5% rise in basic pay for 2023-24.
Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said: “It is hugely disappointing some unions are escalating strike action this week – including the RCN, despite only a third of its members rejecting the government’s fair and reasonable offer on pay, which other unions accepted.
“These strikes will put more pressure on the NHS and will be incredibly disruptive for patients. People should attend appointments unless told otherwise by the NHS, continue to call 999 in a life-threatening emergency and use NHS 111 online services for non-urgent health needs.”
The RCN’s latest strike was due to last until 8pm on 2 May, but it has been forced to shorten its industrial action after the high court in London ruled its legal mandate for strikes expired on 1 May.
