Health unions are still unhappy nearly a year after the Labour government settled the pay disputes and strike that plagued the NHS between 2022 and 2024. Personnel Today explains the current situation in the NHS and who might strike again.
Yesterday, hospital consultants threatened to join resident doctors in a new round of industrial action within the NHS. The British Medical Association called on the government to engage in negotiations as it announced that senior doctors from England had voted to indicate their feelings about a recent pay offer of 4%.
Residents are voting now in an official strike ballot which closes on the 7th of July. The unions that represent nurses, ambulance drivers and other health care workers are also in contact with their members. They want to know their opinion on the pay offers their leaders have called “inadequate and derisory”.
By September of last year, the health ministers had conceded to the demands of the unions and given them bumper pay awards. They also gave assurances that they would fix the long-term erosion of pay at the core of many disputes.
The government accepted the recommendations of the pay review bodies. Unions argue that with inflation increasing in spring, the real pay increases are not what they seem.
The co-chairs of the BMA’s consultants committee, Dr Helen Neary and Shanu Datta, said that last month’s proposal was an insult to senior physicians and undermines much of what had been achieved in the past year.
The 4% was well below the RPI inflation rate for April, and it didn’t even come close to making up for the massive pay cuts that consultants have suffered over the past 17 years.
“Without restoring the value of consultants, we will continue driving our most experienced clinical leaders away from patients and the public – in many instances to better conditions and pay overseas.”
The ministers added: “It is doubly disappointing that our pay review agency, the DDRB still has to be hamstrung despite assurances given as part of a previous agreement.”
The BMA’s indicative ballot for SAS doctors (consultants and specialists) on whether or not they are willing to take industrial actions closes on the 1st September.
Professor Nicola Ranger said that the 3.6% pay increase would “entirely be swallowed by inflation” and will not change the status quo, where nursing is undervalued, and there are too few nurses entering the profession, and too many quitting.
The RCN will decide its next step based on the results of consultations that took place in England, Northern Ireland, and Wales. This could include a ballot to strike.
Joanne Kaye said, “We know how hard they work and deserve this award.” Although it is good that the government moved away from its previous 2,8% offer, members are likely to be disappointed by the fact that the 3.6% barely covers inflationary increases.
We want to know how all of our members feel about this award. We encourage them to express their opinions and encourage their colleagues to do the same.
Consultations with RCM members will close on 7th July. Unite, GMB, and Unison will be consulting their members about the pay award in the next few weeks. The Society of Radiographers and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy are also consulting their members about the 3.6% award. Voting will close in the coming weeks.
Subscribe to our weekly HR news and guidance
Every Wednesday, receive the Personnel Today Direct newsletter.
