Health workers to  decide whether to take NHS wage offer or risk lengthy pay review body wait 

A pay consultation involving 280,000 health workers across England, who belong to UNISON, opens today (Tuesday). During the consultation exercise, UNISON is encouraging NHS staff to accept the offer, which resulted from pay talks held with unions, employers and ministers earlier this month. The vote closes on Friday 14 April. The offer covers two pay years – a one-off amount for 2022/23 and a 5% wage rise (10.4% for the lowest paid) for 2023/24. The non-consolidated payment for this year is worth between £1,655 and £3,789 to health workers in England. This is equal to 8.2% for the lowest paid and around 6% for nurses, midwives and other colleagues on band 5 of Agenda for Change. It’s in addition to the £1,400 NHS staff received for 2022/23 last September. The 2023/24 wage rise is worth at least £1,065 and would raise the lowest hourly rate in the NHS in England to £11.45 an hour, or £22,383 a year. Commenting on the pay consultation, UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: “After months of the government refusing to discuss pay, strike action by health workers was successful in getting unions into the room for talks. Following days of tough negotiations, there’s now an offer to consider. “It’s more than ministers ever wanted to invest in pay this year or next, though not as much as health workers deserve. “The offer is the best to be achieved through negotiation. It gives NHS staff an alternative to losing more pay through strike action. Tha...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: News nhs pay NHS pay rise Source Type: news