In an effort to curtail widespread NHS staff walkouts, nurses and ambulance personnel have been promised 5% wage increases beginning next month.
The Government has announced a new agreement with the nurses’ unions, but the staff must still approve it.
The Government and the Unions have been at odds over pay for more than a week, and it has taken several months of unrest for the offer to materialize.
The final offer has been agreed, according to the NHS Staff Council, which represents nurses, ambulance drivers, and other NHS employees.
Ambulance members of Unison and Unite were due to strike next Monday and physiotherapists were going to walk out later this month, but the action has been called off.
The offer consists of a one-off payment for the current financial year 2022/23 worth between £1,655 and £3,789 for Agenda for Change staff in England and a 5% consolidated pay increase for 2023/24.
In an additional commitment to the nurses and ambulance staff, the government has agreed to create a new pay spine exclusively for all nursing staff with the intention of it coming into force for 2024/25.
Government and NHS unions reach pay offer
Rishi Sunak and Steve Barclay met with nurses on a thoracic ward, as the Prime Minister told staff the new offer was ‘hot off the press information’.
He said: ‘I hope that you’ve heard the good news.
‘We’ve been working really hard at it, but we’ve managed to find a great agreement with the Royal College of Nursing and all the other unions to make sure you guys all get recognised and rewarded for the fantastic job you do for us.
‘And do that in a way that works for us as well and is affordable, so we’re really pleased.’
The agreed deal is far from what nurses had originally demanded at the end of last year.
Nurses walked out for the first time in the RCN’s 105-year history because they wanted a pay rise of 19.2% to compensate for huge inflation, back in December.
The government previously indicated it could only afford a 3.5% pay increase for staff.
Earlier this year unions indicated they would settle for a 10% rise.
It is still unclear where the money for the rise will come from, as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt didn’t include any funding in his Budget yesterday.
Unions will have to ballot their members before the dispute ends, and would suspend future strikes while that happens.
Last month Members of the Royal College of Nurses (RCN), which represents tens of thousands of nurses, were set to walk out for 48 hours from March 1-3.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the offer amounts to a ‘fair pay rise’.
He said: ‘I hugely admire the incredible work of NHS staff, including during the pandemic and the progress they have made to tackle the resulting backlog.
‘This offer will give nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists and other non-medical staff a fair pay rise while protecting our commitment to halve inflation.
‘We have engaged in constructive and meaningful discussions with unions and NHS Employers and I look forward to continuing our work together to make the NHS a better place to work.’
Mr Barclay said that funding for the deal will not come at the expense of patients.
He said: ‘Obviously how these things are funded are a matter for the Chancellor.
‘We have been very clear in terms of the discussions we have had with the trade unions this will not come from patient-facing aspects.
‘Of course we will look at areas of underspend, areas of administrative saving and discuss these things with the Treasury in the usual way.’
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he is ‘really pleased’ that the Government and unions have come to an agreement that will end the strike action.
He said: ‘It is right that we reward our hardworking NHS staff, who showed bravery and dedication throughout the pandemic and continue to make phenomenal progress to tackle waiting lists.’
‘Importantly this deal is also affordable for the taxpayer and continues to deliver on my promise to halve inflation.
‘We have taken a reasonable approach throughout and this offer is good for NHS staff, it’s good for the taxpayer and most importantly it is good news for patients whose care will no longer be disrupted by strike action.’
Downing Street said the Prime Minister did not view the NHS pay deal as inflationary.
Asked whether the deal could lead to a rise in inflation, a spokesman said: ‘We don’t believe so. The two one-off payments for 22/23 we don’t believe will create future inflationary pressures.
‘The award next year for 23/24 is broadly in line with pay growth in the wider economy, so won’t drive significant growth in private sector pay.’
Asked why the UK Government had apparently rowed back on the idea of awarding any pay rise worth more than 3.5%, the spokesman replied: ‘We weren’t prepared to have the talks unless the unions called off the disruptive strike action.
‘You’ll remember when this issue first arose, the ask was for a 19.2% pay rise, which wouldn’t have been affordable.’
He added: ‘We believe it is fair for everyone involved and it ultimately protects the Prime Minister’s promise to halve inflation and ensure patients don’t experience any more disruption (in relation) to these particular strikes.’
Unison’s head of health Sara Gorton said: ‘It’s a shame it took so long to get here. Health workers had to take many days of strike action, and thousands more had to threaten to join them, to get their unions into the room and proper talks underway.
‘But following days of intensive talks between the Government, unions and employers, there’s now an offer on the table for NHS staff.
‘If accepted, the offer would boost pay significantly this year and mean a wage increase next year that’s more than the Government had budgeted for.
‘This is better than having to wait many more months for the NHS pay review body to make its recommendation.
‘Unison will now be putting this offer to the hundreds of thousands of health members in the union in the next few weeks, recommending acceptance.
‘In the coming days, health workers will have the chance to look at the full detail of what’s on offer and decide whether that’s enough to end the dispute. While that process takes place any planned industrial action will be paused.’
RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive, Pat Cullen, said: ‘The government was forced into these negotiations and to reopen the pay award as a result of the historic pressure from nursing staff.Se
‘Members took the hardest of decisions to go on strike and I believe they have been vindicated today.
‘After tough negotiations, there are a series of commitments here that our members can see will make a positive impact on the nursing profession, the NHS and the people who rely on it.
‘Our members will have their say on it and I respect everybody’s perspective. Each should look closely at what it means for them.
‘As well as the additional money now, we have made real progress with the government on safe staffing measures, a new pay structure for nursing, support for newly qualified staff and pensions too.
‘It is not a panacea, but it is real tangible progress and the RCN’s member leaders are asking fellow nursing staff to support what our negotiations have secured.’