26.04.17
Labour’s pledge to raise wages for ‘underpaid and overworked’ NHS staff
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth will today outline a major campaign pledge to axe the NHS pay cap, saying that staff are “underpaid and overworked”.
The change is predicted to cost the NHS around £1bn, however Labour say that this is the price the government should pay to show hardworking NHS staff that they are being appreciated.
Speaking at the Unison Health Conference in Liverpool, Ashworth will say: “Our NHS staff are the very pride of Britain.
“Yet they are ignored, insulted, undervalued, overworked and underpaid by this Tory government. Not anymore. Enough is enough. NHS staff have been taken for granted for too long by the Conservatives.
“Cuts to pay and training mean hard-working staff are being forced from NHS professions and young people are being put off before they have even started.”
The move comes after Jeremy Hunt announced a real terms pay cut for NHS staff at the end of March – a move that health organisations unanimously disagreed with.
Union the RCN also last month stated that it had paid out over a quarter of a million pounds in hardship grants out to members of the union who were seriously struggling with paying rent and other bills.
On top of that, Ashworth will also pledge to restore collective bargaining in the NHS, handing power back to unions to by allowing them to negotiate pay directly with employers.
This comes after a landmark decision in January to give one union, the Hospital Consultants & Specialists Association, the power to discuss the pay of hospital doctors directly with employers.
Should Labour come into power after the election on 8 June, this is something that the new government will look to roll out with a number of other unions and health groups across the country.
In addition, Labour also say that it will reverse the move to cut bursaries for students studying for a career in the NHS, including nurses and midwives.
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