End of ambulance and nursing strikes in sight as ministers finally ‘agree’ £2.5billion pay deal

Ministers and NHS unions today agreed a new wage deal worth £2.5bn, a move that could spell the end of a winter of strikes.

After weeks of behind-the-scenes bickering, the government has offered more than a million staff members a one-off bonus worth up to £3,800. They will also receive an extra 5 percent for 2023/24.

Both parties agree that the deal is a “fair and reasonable settlement,” according to a No10 spokesperson.

But one of the six unions involved in the negotiations said it was ‘far from perfect’ and ‘of course our NHS workers deserve more’.

Planned strikes by the Royal College of Nursing, Unison, GMB, Unite, the British Dental Association and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists have now been suspended.

They will all ask their members if they agree to the deal or not.

If they accept, the strikes that have plagued the ailing health service for months will officially be over.

But the offer doesn’t extend to junior doctors, who launched their own three-day walkout this week to pursue an inflation-slowing 35 percent wage increase.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the offer amounts to “a fair wage increase.”

He said: ‘I have enormous admiration for the incredible work done by NHS staff, including during the pandemic, and the progress they have made to deal with the resulting backlog.

“This offer will give nurses, paramedics, physiotherapists and other non-medical personnel a fair pay rise while protecting our commitment to halving inflation.

“We have had constructive and meaningful discussions with unions and NHS employers and I look forward to continuing to work together to make the NHS a better place to work.”

In a statement, the Ministry of Health and Social Care said talks have been “constructive” and that the government’s offer is a “final offer”.

The government “firmly believes that this is a fair and reasonable deal for Agenda for Change staff,” it added.

The deal also marks a “fair deal for the taxpayer and will ensure we can continue to reduce inflation,” it said.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also said he is “very happy” that the government and unions have reached an agreement that will end the strike.

“It is good that we are rewarding our hard-working NHS staff, who have shown courage and dedication during the pandemic and continue to make phenomenal progress in tackling waiting lists,” he said.

“Importantly, this deal is affordable for taxpayers and continues to deliver on my pledge to cut inflation in half.

Speaking to his department’s broadcasters, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he was ‘very pleased’ that the NHS staff council ‘agreed to recommend the government’s formal offer’.

He said it includes a 5 per cent pay rise for 2023/24 and a ‘top-up lump sum’ for this year, meaning a newly qualified nurse will get an extra £1,800 this year on top of the existing deal and a pay rise of more than £1,300 next year.

However, Rachel Harrison, the GMB’s national secretary, warned ‘of course our NHS staff earn more’.

She said: ‘Thanks to the strength and hard work of GMB’s NHS members, the government has gone from refusing to discuss wages to putting an extra £2.5bn on the table for this year.

‘GMB members can rightly be proud of themselves. It’s been a rough road, but they’ve faced the Department of Health and won an offer that we think is the best that can be negotiated at this stage.

“This offer is far from perfect, and of course our NHS staff earn more.”

RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer Pat Cullen added: “The government was forced into these negotiations and reopened pay due to historic pressure from nursing staff.

“Members made the hardest decisions to go on strike and I believe today they were won.

‘After tough negotiations, here are a range of commitments that our members can see will have a positive impact on the nursing profession, the NHS and the people who rely on it.’

She said: ‘Our members will have their say on it and I respect everyone’s perspective. Each should take a good look at what it means to them.

‘In addition to the extra money that is now available, we have made real progress together with the government in the field of safe personnel measures, a new wage structure for nursing, support for newly qualified personnel and also pensions.

“It’s not a panacea, but it’s real tangible progress and RCN member leaders are asking fellow nurses to support what our negotiations have achieved.”

Meanwhile, Sara Gorton, UNISON’s head of health, said: ‘It’s a shame it’s taken so long to get here.

“Health workers had to strike for many days and threaten thousands of others to join them in order to get their unions in and start good talks.”

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has now called on young doctors to follow the example of other health unions who have reached a settlement with the government and call off their union action and enter into pay talks.

“We have offered the trainee doctors the same conditions that have been accepted by the other unions and I hope that the trainee doctors will respond,” he said.

But a request from them for a 35 percent pay rise is not affordable.

“That’s why we need to see the same kind of leadership from them that we saw from the unions in the Agenda for Change contract.”