Delayed, disappointing pay rise will leave staff considering their futures, say health unions

Health unions representing more than a million NHS staff in England have ​reacted with dismay to the NHS pay rise of £1,400 announced today (Tuesday) by the government. UNISON head of health and chair of the ​NHS group of unions Sara Gorton said: “This is nowhere ​near what’s needed to save the NHS. “Demoralised ​and depleted health workers needed to know that ministers are serious about solving the staffing crisis and investing in the future. The way to do that was through a significant pay award. “With the pandemic barely behind us and the growing cost-of-living catastrophe, NHS staff, their bank accounts ​and health services are all running on empty. “The government’s shown it’s prepared to sit by and watch waiting lists grow, ambulance call times ​lengthen and patient suffering increase. “Many will be seriously considering industrial action after this pitiful increase and a majority of the public will be behind them. ​”Ministers can’t continue to allow wages to fall and expect staff still ​to be there. The simple formula for recruiting and retaining enough staff to tackle the treatment backlog ​and avoiding a damaging dispute is to ensure NHS workers have a decent pay rise. ​This isn’t it.” Assistant director at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and secretary of the ​NHS group of unions Elaine Sparkes said: “NHS workers have made it clear that a pay award like this is nowhere near enough in the curren...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article News Press release nhs pay Put NHS pay right Sara Gorton Source Type: news