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Health unions vote to accept pay deal and end dispute with government

The RCN, Unison and other unions have collectively voted to accept a pay deal including a 1 per cent rise for workers earning up to £56,500.

Health unions including the RCN have voted in favour of accepting the government’s latest pay offer, bringing a year-long dispute to an end.

At the NHS staff council meeting today, the unions informed NHS management of their collective decision to accept the deal, which includes a 1 per cent pay increase for staff earning up to £56,500.

The RCN, Unison, the Royal College of Midwives and other healthcare unions were in favour of the 2015/16 offer.

Only Unite voted against the deal, which will be implemented in April.

It includes an extra £200 for staff earning between £15,000 and £17,425 and a 5.6 per cent rise for the lowest paid staff in the NHS, who will see their salaries increase from £14,300 to £15,100,

In return, there will be a freeze on incremental progression in 2015/16 for staff earning more than £40,558 and a reform of redundancy pay.

The government’s offer was made at the end of January, just days before a 12-hour strike was due to begin.

The dispute began in March last year when health secretary Jeremy Hunt rejected a recommendation by the NHS Pay Review Body (RB) that all staff should get a 1 per cent rise, which sparked industrial action by nurses and midwives last October and November.

Unite national officer for health Barrie Brown said the government had sidelined the RB, adding: ‘We expect a future government to provide the RB with a remit with a big scope for looking at pay.’

Responding to the decision, Danny Mortimer, chief executive of the NHS Employers organisation, said: 'This will be a huge relief for NHS organisations and for the thousands of patients and staff who were disrupted by industrial action.
 
'Employers do understand the anxieties of staff and urgently want to discuss sustainable ways to move away from pay restraint. This end to industrial action means we are now in a position to start those crucial discussions.'