NHS staff could strike this autumn after being offered below-inflation pay rises.
Unions have described the offer, which would see health workers receive a pay increase of between four and nine per cent depending on their job, as “disappointing” with inflation soaring amid the cost of living crisis.
According to reports 13 medical organisations will meet on Friday to discuss action as backlash to the offer continues to grow.
The Royal College of Nursing, which has 465,000 members, announced within hours of the offer being tabled that it would hold a vote on whether to carry out industrial action.
RCN general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen said in quotes reported by The Sun : “We will be balloting our members and public support is already growing.
“People know that nursing staff are patients’ greatest advocates and they are joining us in saying enough is enough. A lifetime of service must never mean a lifetime of poverty.
“This real-terms pay cut for our members is a national disgrace.”
The RCN carried out a poll to gauge support for a nurses' strike and found that 60 per cent of the general public would back industrial action.
The i newspaper reported Suzanne Tyler from the Royal College of Midwives as saying that medical unions “will be supporting each other”.
Unison head of health Sarah Gorton added that: “Ministers can’t continue to allow wages to fall and expect staff still to be there.”
However, other organisations reportedly questioned whether that money to fund pay rises would affect hospital budgets and prevent Covid backlogs from being cleared.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said: “This Government hugely values and appreciates the dedication and contribution of NHS staff which is why we will give over one million NHS workers a pay rise of £1,400 this year, on top of the three per cent they received last year when pay rises were temporarily paused in the wider public sector.
“We asked the independent pay review bodies for their recommendations and I am pleased to accept them in full.
“We want a fair deal for staff. Very high inflation-driven settlements would have a worse impact on pay packets in the long run than proportionate and balanced increases now, and it is welcome that the pay review bodies agree with this approach.”
