The government’s plans to limit wage rises across the NHS to 2.8% next year will go down badly with staff already facing a hellish winter, says UNISON.
The decision to delay talks on the promised modernisation of NHS pay scales until the second half of next year isn’t helpful, says UNISON.
Similarly, insisting the cost of pay reform must be deducted from the pot available for the 2025/26 annual wage rise will hit workforce morale, says the union.
Commenting on the publication of the government’s evidence to the NHS pay review body, UNISON head of health Helga Pile said:
“The government has inherited a financial mess from its predecessors, but this is not what NHS workers wanted to hear.
“Staff are crucial in turning around the fortunes of the NHS. Improving performance is a key government pledge, but the pay rise proposed is barely above the cost of living.
“Letting the discredited pay review body decide how much cash is needed for updating Agenda for Change pay scales isn’t a smart move.
“Nor is insisting the costs of next year’s wage rise and modernising the pay bands come from the same pot. NHS staff will end up with less, especially as money will have to be spent to keep the lowest paid above the legal minimum.
“This year’s pay rise was significantly lower than that awarded to medical staff. But promises to fix the pay structure made up for this somewhat. This failure to deliver is a broken commitment to the staff the government is relying upon to get us through a quad-demic.
“Talks to make the 20-year-old salary structure fit for a modern NHS are meant to be happening now. NHS employers and unions could have found a solution by sitting down together.
“Problems with the pay scales have led to lots of local strikes. The decision to push tackling the outdated pay structure back into next year means there could well be more.
“Everyone wants to improve patient care, make the health service more efficient, bring down waiting times and end delays. But without the staff, the NHS won’t get the huge helping hand it needs.”
