Two unions representing NHS staff in Wales have voted to accept the Welsh Government pay offer. Members of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and GMB Union have accepted the revised pay offer.
The results of both union's ballots saw more than two-thirds of members vote to accept the pay deal. But both unions say they are committed to holding the Welsh Government to their promise of restoring pay to 2008 levels.
The offer included a one-off 3% payment, backdated to last year, and a 5% offer from the start of this month. The Welsh Government says the package means that those on the bottom of Band 5, which includes nurses and other health care professionals just starting their careers in NHS Wales, will have received a total pay increase of over 17% (of which over 12% is consolidated) for the financial years for 2022-23 and 2023-24. This sees their starting salary at £28,834. Lowest paid NHS staff will have received a pay increase of over 26% over 2022-23 and 2023-24, which means a starting salary of £22,720 which equates to an hourly rate of £11.39.
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NHS staff working with UNISON have also voted to accept the new pay offer. However, members of the Royal College of Nursing voted to reject the pay offer, and are set to strike next month.
GMB Union announced that more than 65% of its members voted to accept the offer, with a 60% turnout. Nathan Holman, GMB Wales NHS Lead Officer, said: “GMB members have voted to accept the offer - however we recognise many of our members are not happy with the deal. We will continue to hold the Welsh Government to account by pushing for restorative pay increases. It is vital that we bring our members’ pay back up to the levels they would have received had we not had the years of pay freezes. GMB union will now meet with Welsh Government and NHS Employers to progress and implement the non-pay elements of this deal.”
The RCM announced that in a turnout of 53.7% of members, over two-thirds (66.7%) voted to accept the deal and 33.2% of members voted to reject it. The union is planning to work with the Welsh Government to improve the conditions that midwives and their colleagues work in, making services better for women that use the care.
RCM Director for Wales, Julie Richards, said: “Our members stood up, raised their voices, and were prepared to act for what they believe in and what they deserve. It is their strength and conviction, and those of other union members, that brought the Government to the table and resulted in this deal. This was an offer that delivered a much-improved pay award. It will also tackle many of the other issues of concern to our members because this was not just about pay. It was also about improving the conditions that midwives, MSWs, and their colleagues work in, and most importantly, about making care better for women.
“We will be holding the Welsh Government to account on these promises on pay and other areas. I now look forward to working with them to make our maternity services the best they possibly can be, for women, and the hardworking professionals running them 24/7, every day of the year. This is not the end of a process; it is a milestone on a long road and gives us a firm base on which to now look to the future.”
The RCM said there are also promises from the Welsh Government to look at unsocial hours allowances and flexible working. Alongside this there are pledges to look at staffing levels to address growing shortages, more flexible working, and a commitment to discuss reducing working hours with no loss of pay.
All NHS unions in Wales are now expecting to hear from the Welsh Government in relation to pay restoration, which was promised as part of the pay deal. However, the conditions of which rely on whether there will be additional funding from Westminster via the Barnett Formula. It is not yet clear if the pay award offered the NHS England employees comes from an existing budget. If it does, there will be no consequential for Wales. However, if the pay award for NHS England employees is additional to the existing budget, Wales will receive consequential, and could result in a step toward pay restoration for NHS Wales employees.
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