NHS unions warn of industrial unrest over expected 3% pay rise
Ministers are likely to face a fresh outbreak of industrial unrest if, as expected, the government accepts a well-below inflation pay rise for NHS workers, unions and professional groups have warned.
Even if there are no strikes over a pay offer at around the expected 3% level, some said another cut in real-terms pay coupled with staff shortages and the legacy of Covid could simply prompt an exodus of workers, with one official calling the situation “a perfect storm for the NHS”.
While the NHS Pay Review Body’s (PRB) final recommendation is not yet known, sources have said the offer for staff in England is likely to be about 3%. Awards in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are decided by devolved governments.
Its recommendation has already been submitted to the government, but not yet endorsed or made public. While some sources predict the news could come as early as next week, last year it did not emerge until the second half of July.
Ministers made clear in their written evidence to the PRB earlier this year that they planned to award NHS staff in England 3% and that any larger figure would be unaffordable.
There was “extremely limited room for any further investment in pay” beyond that because the NHS’s budget had been fixed to prioritise tackling the massive backlog of people waiting for planned hospital care, which now stands at 6.5 million.
Speaking privately, officials from the coalition of 13 unions, representative groups and professional trade bodies involved in talks over pay for NHS staff employed on “agenda for change” terms – almost all apart from doctors and dentists – said strike action seemed very possible when inflation is running at 9%.
“There is real anger among members about the impact of inflation,” one
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