26.08.15
Some NHS staff to miss out on pay rise over next 5 years
Not every NHS worker will be receiving the 1% pay rise promised to public sector staff in the government’s Summer Budget, according to a letter sent to NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) by the Treasury.
Treasury chief secretary Greg Hands MP said in a letter to pay review bodies – including the two that cover NHS staff, doctors and dentists – that there should be “no expectation” that all workers would receive a 1% pay rise, as these would be applied “in a targeted manner”.
He said in the letter: “The government expects pay awards to be applied in a targeted manner to support the delivery of public services, and to address recruitment and retention pressures.
“This may mean that some workers could receive more than 1% while others could receive less; there should not be an expectation that every worker will receive a 1% award.”
Hands added that departments would submit proposals to their pay review bodies outlining the needs to their workforces.
He blamed the limited pay rises on the £20bn of public sector savings announced in the Summer Budget, which sought to deliver a surplus by 2019-20.
“Whilst the deficit and debt are being reduced, the government will need to continue to ensure restraint in public sector pay. Without such restraint, reductions would need to come from other areas of spend, resulting in negative impacts on public services and jobs.
“At a time of difficult decisions, the government’s pay policy will help to protect the jobs of thousands of front line public sector workers,” Hands added.
Public sector unions reacted angrily to the letter, accusing the government of “smoke and mirrors” in their original pay rise pledge.
Unison general secretary, Dave Prentis, said: “There was no substance to Osborne’s claim and NHS staff will be bitterly disappointed to hear many of them may not even get an extra penny for five more years.
“It is difficult to see how much targeting you can get from a miserly 1% without resulting in hundreds of thousands not getting a pay rise at all.
“Ministers’ acknowledgment of saving at least £8bn with the pay caps and freezes imposed on public sector pay proves it is nurses, healthcare assistants, porters and paramedics who are still paying for a deficit they have nothing to do with.”
The Treasury secretary noted that the government will continue to “examine pay reforms” and consider relevant legislation to achieve their budget objectives – alongside the help of pay review bodies.
In November 2014, NHS workers, including members from nine different unions, staged strike action against the government’s decision not to accept the recommended 1% pay rise to healthcare employees.
Shortly before that, a poll commissioned by the Royal College of Midwives found that 82% of the public believed NHS staff should receive the 1% pay rise recommended by the independent pay review body.
However Jeremy Hunt had said at the time that the NHS couldn’t afford a 1% pay rise alongside incremental increases, adding that the unions’ demands would lead to 14,000 frontline jobs being cut over two years.
(Top image c. Dominic Lipinski, PA Images)