Commenting on the news today (Wednesday) that the government has
begun the NHS pay review body process for
2023-24, UNISON head of health Sara
Gorton said:
“Ministers should be concerned with putting NHS pay right now,
not trying to distract unions with the long, drawn-out
evidence-gathering process of the pay review body.
“Staff are exiting in droves and without urgent movement on
pay, many more will follow suit.
“NHS services are in a dire state, with too few staff to deliver
safe patient care. That’s why hundreds of thousands of NHS
employees have either voted to strike over pay and staffing, or
are currently doing so.
“Rather than pretending the NHS isn’t on the verge of a damaging
dispute, the government’s focus should be on how to keep
experienced staff in their jobs. They can do this with a wage
rise that better reflects the harsh economic reality for working
people.”
Notes to editors:
– In July, the government in Westminster announced that most
NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts (NHS terms and
conditions) in England would get a pay rise of £1,400, in line
with the recommendation of the NHS pay review body. This amounted
to a 4.75% increase to the NHS pay bill. Health workers had
been due a wage rise on 1 April 2022. Health workers in Wales got
the same award. The health minister in Northern Ireland said he
wanted to implement the same award but couldn’t because of
the political stalemate, so NHS workers there have had no pay
rise at all.
– UNISON’s ballot of health staff working for more
than 250 NHS employers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
launched on 25 October. That vote closes in Northern Ireland
on Friday (18 November), and next Friday (25 November) in England
and Wales. UNISON members in Scotland have voted to
reject the latest pay offer from the Scottish government.
– UNISON and most other health unions had called for an
above-inflation pay rise in their submission to the NHS pay
review body. Other unions either with a live strike mandate or
balloting or for industrial action in the NHS
include the Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of
Midwives, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, GMB and Unite.
– To achieve a legal strike ballot, UK law requires unions
to jump a variety of hurdles. In addition to requiring 50% of the
workers being balloted to participate in any vote, the law
demands that in very important public services, like many parts
of the NHS, 40% of those sent ballot papers must vote yes. Unions
are also unable to conduct strike ballots electronically. All
ballot papers must be sent out in the mail and returned by post.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million
members providing public services in education, local government,
the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the
public, voluntary and private sectors.
