Members of Unison have voted to accept NHS pay offer

Members of Unison have voted “decisively” to accept the NHS pay offer, the union has announced.

In its ballot of 288,000 NHS workers across England, almost three quarters voted to accept the offer, while 26% voted to reject it on a turnout of 53%.

Under the deal, which Unison recommended its members accept, workers will receive an additional one-off payment for the year 2022/23, along with a 5% pay rise for 2023/24 -10.4% for the lowest paid.

The union said the one-off payment is worth between £1,655 and £3,789, which equates to 8.2% for the lowest paid and around 6% for nurses, midwives and others in the band 5 pay bracket.

The wage rise for next year 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, the union said.

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The Unison development comes after reports on Thursday suggested members of Royal College of Nursing (RCN) were poised to reject the offer – paving the way for further nurses’ strikes.

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The result of the RCN ballot is expected to be revealed later this evening.

Unison head of health Sara Gorton said: “Clearly health workers would have wanted more, but this was the best that could be achieved through negotiation.

“Over the past few weeks, health workers have weighed up what’s on offer. They’ve opted for the certainty of getting the extra cash in their pockets soon.

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“It’s a pity it took several months of strike action before the government would commit to talks. Unions told ministers last summer the £1,400 pay rise wasn’t enough to stop staff leaving the NHS, nor to prevent strikes. But they didn’t want to listen.

“Instead, health workers were forced to strike, losing money they could ill afford. The NHS and its patients suffered months of unnecessary disruption.”

She added: “Other unions are still consulting so the full picture won’t emerge until the end of the month. Unison will be urging the government to ensure NHS workers get the wage rises they’ve voted for at the earliest opportunity.”

Ms Gorton warned that while the vote may end “Unison’s dispute…it doesn’t solve the wider staffing emergency affecting every part of the NHS”.

“The mistakes of the past few months cannot be repeated,” she said. “It’s time for a whole new approach to setting pay across the NHS.”

A government spokesperson said: “The decision by members of Unison, the largest NHS union, to accept the pay offer recommended by their leadership demonstrates that it is a fair and reasonable proposal that can bring this dispute to an end.

“Under the offer, an Agenda for Change employee at the Band 6 entry point – such as a physiotherapist, paramedic or a midwife – will receive over £5,100 across last year and this year, with over £2,000 in bonus payments arriving as a lump sum in pay cheques by summer.

“Hundreds of thousands of Agenda for Change staff continue to vote in ballots for other unions over the next two weeks and we hope this generous offer secures their support.”

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