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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Sophie Huskisson & Martin Bagot

NHS pay rise FINALLY agreed but nurses and ambulance strikes could continue

An NHS pay rise has been agreed with the Government after enough unions voted to accept the offer.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay confirmed the 5% pay rise will be awarded to all staff on the main NHS contract except doctors and dentists - up from their original offer of 3.5% for 2022/23.

Workers on the Agenda for Change contract, which covers everyone from nurses and paramedics to porters and cleaners, will also receive a one-off payment worth at least £1,655 for all.

The pay offer has passed despite unions, such as the Royal College of Nurses and Unite, having rejected it.

Votes on the council are weighted according to unions’ membership numbers similar to the electoral college system in the US.

With Unison, the biggest NHS union, GMB and a host of smaller unions having already accepted, it was likely to be passed.

Unison's head of health Sara Gorton savaged ministers for not putting more money on the table in the first place so strikes didn't need to happen (Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)

Caroline Brown, an ambulance technician and senior Unite rep, told Sky News their members are "just going to feel so disappointed that the offer's been accepted".

"They're not here about the money. they're here about all the terms and conditions. We've got patients dying everyday because of underfunding. We're understaffed and can't retain the staff," she said.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham confirmed the union "will be escalating strike action" after voting against the pay deal at the staff council meeting.

Doctors are not part of the same pay structure - their pay dispute is still unresolved (PA)

“It is now time for the government to reopen negotiations. The prime minister needs to stop hiding, step in and solve this dispute,” she added.

The RCN is to ballot 280,000 members for a mandate for further strike action - it could mean nurses continue taking walk outs up until Christmas.

Unlike last time, the RCN is holding a national ballot rather than a series of local workplaces ones, with a result expected in June.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said: “Despite today’s meeting and the outcome that reflects the votes across all unions, the RCN remains in formal dispute with the government and the NHS over pay levels.

"It is my view that negotiations and a resulting additional offer that values nursing staff can prevent further action and bring this dispute to a close."

But Mr Barclay confirmed this was the "final offer" and that he was not willing to get back round the table and negotiate.

Likewise No10 said it is "not looking to reopen pay talks with the RCN".

Unison head of health Sara Gorton, who chairs the union group on the NHS staff council, savaged ministers for not putting more money on the table in the first place so strikes didn't need to happen.

She said: "Health staff shouldn’t have needed to take action in the first place. Unions made clear to ministers last summer that £1,400 wasn't enough to stop staff leaving the NHS, nor prevent strikes. But the government wouldn't listen.

"This pay deal must be the start of something new in the NHS. There cannot be a repeat of the past few months. Everyone who cares about the NHS deserves better. That means improving the process that sets health worker wages."

Pat Cullen's RCN is to ballot its members for a mandate for further strike action after nurses rejected the pay offer (PA)

Some NHS unions have announced they have no confidence in the process of agreeing pay awards, via the NHS Pay Review Body.

The independence of the Government arms length body has been contested after years of below inflation pay recommendations.

In a letter to Mr Barclay, GMB's National Secretary Rachel Harrison, wrote: "“The Pay Review Body, as it currently stands, is clearly unfit for purpose.

“We are calling for significant reform to ensure that proper pay rises, with full pay restoration to make up for over a decade of lost earnings, can be fulfilled as soon as possible.

“We will not be participating in the PRB process until it is reformed.”

She added: "The decision on the revised pay offer at today’s staff council meeting is a welcome first step in the long journey to dealing with the fundamental issues facing GMB’s NHS members, including in ambulance services.

"However, it is abundantly clear that unless significant action is taken on key issues, the problems facing our health service, and the people who work every day to save lives and keep the public safe, will remain."

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, urged the Government to implement the pay rise "as soon as possible".

He warned ministers "to make sure local NHS leaders do not have to cover the increased cost from their existing budgets".

"Failure to do this would have an extremely negative impact on patient care at a time when there are still millions of people on waiting lists," he added.

"The government promised previously that there will be no impact on frontline services or to the quality of care as a result of the offer, which must be reflected in the additional funding that now emerges."

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “I’m pleased the NHS Staff Council has voted to accept our pay offer, demonstrating that a majority of NHS staff agree this is a fair and reasonable deal.

“It is now my intention to implement this for all staff on the Agenda for Change contract and where some unions may choose to remain in dispute, we hope their members – many of whom voted to accept this offer – will recognise this as a fair outcome that carries the support of their colleagues and decide it is time to bring industrial action to an end.

"We will continue to engage constructively with unions on workforce changes to ensure the NHS is the best place to work for staff, patients and taxpayers."

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