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Unions agree to NHS pay deal and call off industrial action

Health unions have jointly agreed to the government’s pay proposal made in January, calling off industrial action in England. 

The new pay offer includes a consolidated 1% payment for all staff up to Band 8B (£45,707 to £56,504); an additional £200 consolidated payment for lower-paid staff (pay points 3-8); and the first point on the pay scale (£14,294) to be abolished and the second raised to £15,100. The plans will not cost taxpayers more than the £280m originally planned, because staff earning more than £40,558 will not receive an increment rise next month.

NHS Employers said that the decision was a “huge relief” for NHS organisations, thousands of patients and staff. 

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of the NHS Employers, said: “Employers do understand the anxieties of staff and urgently want to discuss sustainable ways to move away from pay restraint. 

“This end to industrial action means we are now in a position to start those crucial discussions. Any solution will need to support better, safer and more responsive services to patients and more efficient use of NHS resources.” 

Health unions had met on Monday to decide whether they would jointly accept or reject the government’s revised pay offer. 

NHE had been told that a decision to accept was the most likely outcome, especially as the Royal College of Nursing, Unison, GMB, Royal College of Midwives and the Society of Radiographers had all announced ballot results in favour of the offer. Members of the Royal College of Midwives showed the strongest support for the deal with 93.9% voting in favour of accepting the offer; the Society of Radiographers had 86.45% vote in favour while GMB saw 81% vote to accept.

Unite members voted by the narrowest of margins to reject the deal. Many of them are in higher-paid bands and specialist jobs, and therefore lost out in the latest version of the pay deal. 

And Managers in Partnership (MiP), which has strongly rejected the deal, told us that while it disagrees with the offer it was likely to be agreed nationally by unions. 

Earlier this month, 92% of MiP members voted to reject the government’s pay offer, on a turnout of 31%. Members also reported that they work long unpaid hours, with 93% working over 37.5 hours a week on average and 29% working more than 48 hours, the limit set by the working time regulations. 

Jon Restell, chief executive of MiP, has been quoted as saying: “If the offer is accepted and implemented nationally, MiP will ask local employers to make up the difference.” 

It is estimated about 400,000 staff and six unions took part in the first round of strikes in October. Military personnel had to be drafted in to drive ambulances in London, in the West Midlands ambulances were only responding to life-threatening calls, while in hospitals clinics had to be postponed, antenatal classes were cancelled and operations had to be called off due to a lack of staff.

Nine unions took part in the second round of action in November causing further disruption. Two more rounds of escalating action were planned for January and February leading to Jeremy Hunt calling in unions for talks.

After two days of negotiations Hunt chaired a meeting of the government Cobra committee to plan contingencies for the strike action, an indication the talks were not going well. But the government and unions were able to reach a tentative agreement before any further action was taken.

Christina McAnea, chair of the trade union representation on the NHS Staff Council and head of health for Unison, said: “The determination and courage of health workers up and down the country forced the government to negotiate with the health unions. The pay deal will make a difference to over 250,000 of the lowest-paid workers in the NHS.

“By ignoring the recommendations of the NHS Pay Review Body for England, the government angered a whole workforce, with some taking strike action for the first time in 34 years, and others for the first time ever. The campaign to improve pay in the NHS goes on. Health workers will not sit back and do nothing when their standard of living is being attacked. This should send a strong warning to any government elected in May.”

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