Health Unions are recommending that their members accept the new offer from the Government and bring industrial action to an end
It comes after the the unions entered talks with the government at the end of February, cancelling strikes planned in England for the beginning of March.
The offer made by the UK government today consists of a one-off payment for the current financial year 2022/23 worth between £1,655 and £3,789 for Agenda for Change staff in England and a 5% consolidated pay increase for 2023/24 for all those at point 2 of Band 2 and above.
The government has also set out a series of commitments and plans to improve pay, terms and conditions over time. These include a specific commitment to the RCN to consider a new pay spine exclusively for all nursing staff, as part of work to tackle challenges faced by nurses and nursing with the intention that resulting changes can be delivered within the 2024/25 pay year.
In addition, it has committed for the first time to a national evidence-based policy framework on safe staffing, focusing on registered nurses, that will draw on legislation in the rest of the UK and internationally.
Alongside this, it will produce an implementation plan for the forthcoming NHS long-term workforce plan, including an intention to reduce reliance on agency staff.
Other commitments include permanently suspending NHS pension abatement rules, which ensure those returning to work can save more in their pensions and are incentivised to stay in the workforce. As well as this the government has committed to ensuring the pay-setting process operates effectively, tackling violence and aggression towards staff in the NHS and improving support for newly qualified nurses.
A joint statement from the government and the NHS staff council said it was “a fair and reasonable settlement that acknowledges the dedication of NHS staff, while acknowledging the wider economic pressures currently facing the U.K.”
RCN General Secretary & Chief Executive Pat Cullen said: “The UK government was forced into these negotiations and to reopen the pay award as a result of the historic pressure from nursing staff. Members took the hardest of decisions to go on strike and I believe they have been vindicated today.
“After tough negotiations, there are a series of commitments here that our members can see will make a positive impact on the nursing profession, the NHS and the people who rely on it.
“Our members will have their say on it and I respect everybody’s perspective. Each should look closely at what it means for them.
“As well as the additional money now, we have made real progress with the government on safe staffing measures, a new pay structure for nursing, support for newly qualified staff and pensions too.
“It is not a panacea, but it is real tangible progress and the RCN’s member leaders are asking fellow nursing staff to support what our negotiations have secured.”
UNISON’s head of health Sara Gorton said
It’s a shame it took so long to get here. Health workers had to take many days of strike action, and thousands more had to threaten to join them, to get their unions into the room and proper talks underway.
“But following days of intensive talks between the government, unions and employers, there’s now an offer on the table for NHS staff.
“If accepted, the offer would boost pay significantly this year and mean a wage increase next year that’s more than the government had budgeted for.
“This is better than having to wait many more months for the NHS pay review body to make its recommendation.
“UNISON will now be putting this offer to the hundreds of thousands of health members in the union in the next few weeks, recommending acceptance.
“In the coming days, health workers will have the chance to look at the full detail of what’s on offer and decide whether that’s enough to end the dispute. While that process takes place any planned industrial action will be paused.”
GMB National Secretary Rachel Harrison said members “should rightly be proud of themselves. It’s been a tough road but they have faced down the Department of Health and won an offer that we feel is the best that can be achieved at this stage through negotiation.”
