COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Proposed 1% pay rise for NHS staff branded 'pitiful and bitterly disappointing'



The government has published its submission to the NHS pay review body and it shows that for NHS staff in England it is proposing a pay rise in 2021-22 of just 1%.

In the spending review announced last autumn Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, said many public sectors workers would have their pay frozen. But health staff, and low-paid workers, would get a rise, he said.

Today’s document says NHS staff are in line for a 1% increase. It says:

The government announced a pause in public sector pay rises for all workforces, with an exception for employees with basic full-time equivalent salaries of £24,000 or under and for the NHS. In settling the DHSC and NHS budget, the government assumed a headline pay award of 1% for NHS staff. Anything higher would require re-prioritisation ...

The NHS budget is set for 2019/20 to 2023/24 and this budget includes money for planned workforce growth. This is why, as set out in our remit, there are trade-offs if money above affordability assumptions is spent on pay. Covid-19 has created unavoidable direct and indirect financial impacts in the 2020-21 financial year and contributed to a challenging wider economic context.

As the Times’s Chris Smyth reports, the Royal College of Nursing has dismissed this as “pitiful and bitterly disappointing”.

Nurses prepare for strikes over 1% NHS pay rise in England



A nurses' union has set up a £35m fund to prepare for possible strike action over a proposed 1% pay rise for NHS workers in England.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) called this "pitiful", arguing that its members should get 12.5% instead.

It would have to hold a ballot before strikes could go ahead.

Labour said NHS "heroes" deserved more money, but the government insisted 1% was "what's affordable" at a difficult time for the public finances.

A government spokesperson said 1% was a "real-terms increase", as the latest official inflation figure was 0.9%.

But RCN general secretary Dame Donna Kinnair warned it would mean just £3.50 more per week in take-home pay for an experienced nurse.

"This is pitiful and bitterly disappointing," she said. "The government is dangerously out of touch with nursing staff, NHS workers and the public."

The RCN's governing council voted on Friday to set up a £35m "industrial action fund" to support members who would lose income during a strike.

And the public sector Unison union has called for a "mass slow handclap" at 20:00 next Thursday, over what general secretary Christine McAnea described as a "miserly" offer.

Health minister, and former nurse, Nadine Dorries said she was "pleasantly surprised" that any rise had been proposed, with the government set to borrow hundreds of billions of pounds this year to support people and businesses through the pandemic.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that nurses "do their job because they love their job", adding that "we totally appreciate their efforts over the past year".

Labour said the government's promise to reward NHS workers for their efforts during the pandemic "now lie in tatters".

"Boris Johnson is cutting nurses' pay," said shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth, who - in contrast to ministers - called the 1% rise a "real-terms pay cut".

NHS staff in England get pay rise of 3% after their contribution during 'unprecedented year'



A 3% pay rise from the government to NHS workers in England has been heavily criticised as "paltry", "appalling" and "shambolic" by union leaders.

Those receiving the increase, which is backdated to April 2021, include nurses, paramedics, consultants, dentists and salaried GPs.

The government says that for the average nurse, this will mean an additional £1,000 a year. And the extra sum is expected to equate to around £540 for cleaners and porters.

The workers are being recognised for their pandemic contribution during an "unprecedented year", says the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said it is a real-terms increase - but Donna Hales from campaign group Nurses United told Sky News: "It's not even an attempt at a pay rise."

She said she was "very insulted, very angry, very deflated, very disappointed... but to be fair, I'm not surprised."

She added: "We do need a proper 15% pay rise to bring us back in line."

In a video on Twitter, Mr Javid said: "I'm sure that this pay rise will make a real difference to people's lives... showing them how much we value and respect their incredible contribution to our nation."

And in a statement, he said: "NHS staff are rightly receiving a pay rise this year despite the wider public sector pay pause, in recognition of their extraordinary efforts.

"We asked the independent pay review bodies for their recommendations and I'm pleased to accept them in full, with a 3% pay rise for all staff in scope, from doctors and nurses to paramedics and porters.

"We will back the NHS as we focus our efforts on getting through this pandemic and tackling the backlog of other health problems that has built up."