NHS staff to get three per cent pay rise in a move that has outraged health unions
OUTRAGED union leaders have branded a three per cent pay rise for NHS staff in England and Wales as a ‘bitter blow’ and have threatened to take industrial action.
The pay increase was revealed by the government late last night in an announcement that unions described as ‘shambolic’.
The Department of Health and Social Care said the ‘average nurse’ will receive an additional £1,000 a year, while many porters and cleaners will get around £540.
The uplift will benefit thousands of NHS workers across the Portsmouth area, with prime minister Boris Johnson last night tweeting: ‘To recognise the extraordinary contribution they have made they are receiving a 3% pay rise this year.’
But the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has blasted the pay uplift, saying the salary increase would be a cut once inflation was taken into account.
Patricia Marquis, England director of the RCN, told BBC Two’s Newsnight the award left nurses feeling they were not ‘valued for what they do’.
She told the programme the union would consult with its members, adding: ‘Once we have their view – which we suspect will be to say they are unhappy about the level – we will then be considering with them what the next steps might be, which could include consideration of industrial action most certainly.’
The three per cent increase was recommended by an independent body and will be paid to the majority of NHS staff in England including nurses, paramedics, consultants, dentists and salaried GPs but does not cover doctors and dentists in training.
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘NHS staff are rightly receiving a pay rise this year despite the wider public sector pay pause, in recognition of their extraordinary efforts.
‘We asked the independent pay review bodies for their recommendations and I’m pleased to accept them in full, with a three per cent pay rise for all staff in scope, from doctors and nurses to paramedics and porters.’
The RCN had been campaigning for a 12.5 per cent pay increase and its general secretary Pat Cullen said: ‘When the Treasury expects inflation to be 3.7 per cent, ministers are knowingly cutting pay for an experienced nurse by over £200 in real-terms.
‘Nursing staff will remain dignified in responding to what will be a bitter blow to many.
‘But the profession will not take this lying down. We will be consulting our members on what action they would like to take next.’