Government says blanket wage rise presents ‘risk to frontline jobs’
A group of unions representing NHS workers have announced a second round of strikes after the government rejected independent recommendations for a 1 per cent pay rise for all staff.
Health workers in England will stage a four-hour stoppage between 7am and 11am on Monday the 24th of November. In further industrial action, health workers, including nurses, midwives, will then work to rule, refusing to do unpaid overtime, until Sunday the 30th of November, Unison said.
This latest phase in the dispute follows the staff walk out on the 13th of October, which was the first NHS staff strike in more than 30 years.
While the row centres on ministers’ refusal to award an across the board wage increase, the government has agreed to a 1 per cent rise for health workers who do not already receive automatic progression-in-the-job increases. Progression-related pay rises are awarded for professional development and can amount to a 3 per cent pay increase a year. About half of NHS staff are eligible for automatic-progression raises.
However, an independent pay review board said the 1 per cent increase should cover all staff, including those receiving the professional development awards.
But a Department of Health spokesman said: "We have been clear that we can't afford a consolidated pay rise in addition to increments without risking frontline jobs."
Christina McAnea, Unison head of health and chair of the NHS staff side trade unions, said: “For many in the NHS, October’s strike was a first. The next industrial action will be bigger as more unions will be joining it. Jeremy Hunt needs to listen to NHS workers who feel this government is treating them with contempt.
"NHS workers are overworked and underpaid. Most patients would be shocked to know that one in five of the NHS workers who care for them need to do a second job just to survive and many have to borrow money every month to make ends meet or resort to food banks."
A recent Income Data Services survey of 30,000 union members conducted for NHS trade unions found that increased workload, low pay, constant restructures and the stresses of working in the NHS are driving two thirds (66 per cent) of its workers to consider leaving their role.
The survey found that more than a third of respondents work unpaid overtime, which was then confirmed by four out of five of the managers during in-depth interviews carried out by IDS. About half of managers said that unpaid overtime undermines morale and motivation, and contributes to staff fatigue and ‘burn out’.
Christina McAnea added: "Low morale is endemic. And this is echoed by a King’s Fund report, which shows staff morale is now one of NHS finance directors’ top three concerns. Twice as many from the previous quarter."
Unions co-ordinating the strike include:
Unison
Royal College of Midwives
Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians
Society of Radiographers
British Association of Occupational Therapists
GMB
Unite
Managers in Partnership
Prison Officers Association