Over a million NHS workers agree to pay rise

Union members working for the NHS in England have voted overwhelmingly to accept a three year pay deal and changes to the NHS pay structure negotiated by NHS unions.

Members of 13 unions representing hospital cleaners, nurses, security guards, physiotherapists, emergency call handlers, paramedics, midwives, radiographers and other NHS staff across England voted to accept the deal, with the GMB the only union involved in the NHS to reject the offer.

Staff will see pay increases of 6.5 per cent at the top of bands with more for those below, through a combination of cost of living pay rises and faster incremental increases, over the three-year period. The deal will also give an immediate £2,000 increase to lower-paid staff, taking them above the living wage.

It also means that every NHS worker in England will now be paid at least £8.93 an hour (18p above the real living wage of £8.75 an hour), or £17,460 a year if they work full-time.

Sara Gorton, Unison union’s head of health, said: “The agreement won’t solve all the NHS’s problems overnight, but it will go a long way towards easing the financial strain suffered by health staff and their families over many years. The lifting of the damaging one per cent cap on pay will come as a huge relief for all the employers who’ve struggled for so long to attract new recruits and hold on to experienced staff. But this three-year pay deal must not be a one-off.

“Health workers will want to know that ministers are committed to decent wage rises across the NHS for the long term, and that this isn’t just a quick fix. Most importantly, the extra funding means the pay rise won’t be at the expense of services or patient care. Now the government has begun to put right the damage inflicted by its mean-spirited pay policies, staff will be hoping ministers announce an injection of cash for NHS services in time for its 70th birthday next month.”