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20.11.14

Union leaders accept first ever Wales-only pay deal for NHS staff

Union leaders have accepted the first ever Wales-only pay deal offered to NHS staff bringing to an end a long running dispute over salaries.

The agreement reached includes a one-off non-consolidated payment of £187 pro rata, a 1% pay uplift from April 2015, and the implementation of the Living Wage for all Agenda for Change staff across all health boards in Wales.

The deal covers 77,000 NHS staff, excluding doctors and dentists, and marks the first time a pay deal has been negotiated regionally. They were previously UK-wide but this changed when the government rejected the pay review body’s recommendations of a 1% rise for all staff.

Last week’s scheduled industrial action in Wales was suspended when the Welsh government made the improved offer.

Dawn Bowden, UNISON Wales head of health, said: “Taking strike action is always a last resort for our members. The settlement is an improvement on the previous offer and we welcome achieving the Living Wage for our lowest paid members.

“This has been a difficult process for all involved, particularly given the challenging financial climate that we are in as a result of the UK government's continued austerity programme. Clearly this agreement does not make up for the real term loss that NHS workers have suffered in recent years, but we hope we can build on this settlement in the future.”

Welsh health minister Mark Drakeford said: “This two-year, made-in-Wales pay deal demonstrates our ongoing commitment to staff working in the NHS in these challenging financial times. Our overriding priority has been - and continues to be - to maintain jobs at the frontline of NHS Wales against a backdrop of severe cuts to our budget.

“This is an excellent example of working collaboratively and co-production and I am pleased that in Wales we have been able to avoid significant strike action by agreeing a mutual position - this is a credit to all parties.”

News of the deal comes as NHS staff in England are set for a second, bigger round of strike action starting on Monday. There will be a four-hour walkout by members of nine unions who have an estimated 500,000 staff between them.

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