According to Sky News’ understanding, the NHS unions have been given a fresh salary offer, and an announcement is anticipated to be made this afternoon.
That comes after claims that progress has been made in discussions involving unions that represent ambulance workers and nursing personnel.
This new move comes after the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) decided last month to pause industrial action while it engaged into “intense” discussions with governments. Other health unions are expected to follow the RCN’s lead in this regard.
The RCN was followed by both Unison and the GMB in calling a halt to strike action by ambulance workers this month. The unions stated that they had been assured that there was additional investment available for pay rises this year and next year that was separate from the budgets that are currently in place.
A maximum pay increase of 3.5% for 2023-2024 would be reasonable, according to the Department of Health and Social Care, which communicated this earlier this month to the NHS pay review board, which makes recommendations for how much all health employees should be paid.
A wage increase of 3.5 percent has been suggested by the government for the police, the teachers, and the judges.
The RCN initially demanded an above-inflation pay rise of 19.2% as nurses claimed they have had a real-terms pay cut of 20% since 2010, but its leader Pat Cullen said she was willing to meet the government “halfway” at around 10%. This is because nurses said they have had a real-terms pay cut of 20% since 2010.
Just prior to Christmas, tens of thousands of nurses from the RCN went on strike for the first time in their organization’s more than 100-year existence. They later went on strike once again in January and February.
The decision to postpone the walkouts in Wales was followed by the decision to do the same in England.
Teachers in Scotland have been given a salary offer that would result in an increase of 14.6% in their salaries over the course of 28 months. The Scottish government has referred to this as the “biggest pay package in over 20 years.”
Yet, a large number of other disagreements are still being litigated, and last week, junior physicians in England went on strike for three days in a separate dispute with the government over salary.
According to the British Medical Association (BMA), the wage for junior physicians has decreased by 26% during 2008-2009, and freshly certified medical professionals make less money than a barista in a coffee shop. The BMA is advocating for a pay restoration because of these claims.
