News

Final decision on nurses’ pay today: could it be enforced despite strikes?

Representatives from bodies including the RCN, Unison and Unite will attend the NHS Staff Council meeting to vote on whether to accept or reject offer
Striking nurses at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital

Representatives from bodies including the RCN, Unison and Unite will attend the NHS Staff Council meeting to vote on whether to accept or reject offer

Nurses on the picket line at The Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Exeter. Picture: Apex

A final decision on nurses’ pay in England is expected today after months of strikes and weeks of negotiations between health unions and the government.

Union representatives in the NHS Staff Council are expected to meet today to decide whether to accept or reject the government’s revised pay offer for staff on Agenda for Change contracts.

Nurses await result of council vote

NHS Employers, which manages the Staff Council, said the result of the final vote is likely to be announced today. Nursing Standard has not had clarity on what happens if the vote is tied.

Union representatives are likely to vote the same way as their members. Whether or not the pay offer is implemented will depend on what happens at the Staff Council meeting, the Department of Health and Social Care confirmed.

Over the past few weeks health unions, including the RCN, Unite, Unison and GMB – which are all part of the Staff Council – have been balloting their members on whether to accept or turn down the latest offer. Based on the results of those ballots, it looks likely the pay offer will be accepted.

RCN to re-ballot members regarding further strikes

In March, the government and health unions agreed a 5% pay rise for this year (2023-24) and a one-off payment of between £1,655 and £3,789 for 2022-23 after weeks of negotiations.

Ministers had previously budgeted a 3.5% pay rise for this year and offered a 4% consolidated rise for 2022-23 with no one-off payment, which was rejected.

The majority of RCN members who voted in its ballot, which closed on 14 April, turned down the revised offer, with members taking to picket lines again over the May Day bank holiday weekend.

The college is re-balloting its members next month on a further strike mandate from June to December, covering both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 pay years.

Many unions accepted the pay offer

Meanwhile, 74% of Unison members who voted chose to accept the pay deal. Members of the Royal College of Midwives also accepted it, with 57% of members who voted agreeing to the offer.

Members of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy have also accepted the offer, with 65% of members who voted agreeing to it.

Unite members voted 52% to reject the pay offer, with just 55% of eligible members taking part in the ballot.

Members of GMB voted 54% in favour of accepting the offer. The union narrowly reached the required number of member votes, with a turnout of 51%.


In other news

Jobs