Commenting on the announcement today (Wednesday) that the government is to give NHS staff in England a 3% pay rise, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said:
“The government’s acceptance of the NHS pay review body recommendation is an improvement on its earlier miserly 1% proposal.
“But the increase falls short of what NHS staff deserve after the past 16 months. It’s less than the wage rise given to Scottish health colleagues and not enough to protect the NHS.
“Porters, cleaners, nurses, paramedics and other health workers have waited for months for what they hoped would be a fair deal.
“Ministers could have paid up last year if they really valued the NHS. Instead, staff have been made to hang on until the summer – long after their wage rise was due.
“Health workers are now expected to meet the deadly challenge of a new virus wave. The government has failed to show staff just how valued they are to us all. There’s a risk many may not stay around to see the NHS through the pandemic and the clearing of the Covid backlog.”
Notes to editors:
-This outcome is for NHS staff in England. Health workers in Northern Ireland and Wales will now need to see how their ministers plan to interpret the recommendations of the NHS pay review body.
-The press office has several NHS workers available to speak to the media.
-UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
Media contacts:
Liz Chinchen M: 07778 158175 E: press@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
