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Nurses to get new NHS pay award from today – but strikes continue

Eligible staff on Agenda for Change contracts get 5% pay rise, while nurse members of Unite take to the picket line at London trust to call for new pay deal
Photo of Unite members striking outside Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London

Eligible staff on Agenda for Change contracts get 5% pay rise, while nurse members of Unite take to the picket line at London trust to call for new pay deal

Photo of Unite members striking outside Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London
Unite members striking outside Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London today

Nurses working in the NHS in England will start to receive the government’s pay award in their salaries from today, as hundreds take to the picket line in their ongoing dispute with the government.

Eligible staff on Agenda for Change (AfC) contracts directly employed by the NHS, which includes nurses, midwives and paramedics, will receive a 5% pay rise backdated to April.

It comes as around 1,000 members of staff represented by Unite at Guys at St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London are staging a 24-hour strike today over pay, including around 350 nurses. Meanwhile, the RCN is balloting its members on further industrial action.

Pay deal includes one-off payment and ‘backlog bonus’

Nurses belonging to the RCN and Unite remain in dispute after members in both unions voted to reject the pay deal negotiated between the government and the NHS Staff Council.

Health and social care secretary Steve Barclay announced on 2 May that he was implementing the pay deal, after most health unions in England accepted the offer.

As part of the deal staff will also receive a one-off payment for last year and a so-called NHS ‘backlog bonus’, the latter worth between £1,250 and £1,600.

Strike placards spread the message outside Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London

‘We’re giving nurses a fair pay rise’ – health secretary

Speaking today as the pay deal reaches NHS staff, Mr Barclay said: ‘We’re giving nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists and other eligible staff a fair pay rise that will see, for example, band 6 staff getting an extra £5,000 over two years.

‘We hugely value the work of NHS staff and the vital role they’re playing to cut waiting lists, which is one of the government’s five priorities, and recognises the work they put in day in and day out.’

Union says nurse pay is ‘far from fair’

RCN executive director for pay Colin Poolman said: ‘Our members have spoken loud and clear – their pay is far from fair and appropriate.

‘It in no way matches the value or importance of nursing staff who have experienced a real-terms pay cut for the past decade.’

He added: ‘Nursing staff are fighting for their patients, and the very future of our NHS – not just for their pay.’

Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said: ‘The government has nothing to crow about – the pay deal is yet another real-terms pay cut for over a million dedicated and skilled NHS staff.’


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