Aug 3 2007
Union negotiators have secured a new pay offer for health workers.
UNISON will now ask all members working in the NHS whether they wish to accept the offer.
The health executive believes it is the best that can be achieved through negotiation.
Should members reject the new deal, they should also be prepared to support industrial action, the executive said.
The improved offer will put extra cash in the pockets of the lowest paid workers in the NHS, no matter which country they are in. In England only, training budgets for non-clinical staff will be boosted, and clinicians will get money to put towards their registration fees.
Should staff accept the offer, those in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will get the full 2.5% increase recommended by the pay review body immediately, backdated to 1 April this year.
The award will still be staged in England, with staff getting 1.5% payable from 1 April and the remaining 1% from 1 November.
The improved offer at a glance:
- more money for the lowest paid. From 1 November there will be a £400 flat rate increase for those on Bands 1 and 2. Those on Bands 3 and 4 will receive an additional £38 as well as the 2.5%. This will be payable in all 4 UK countries;
- in England only, there will be additional money for staff training targeted directly at those non-clinical staff who often lose out when training budgets are cut;
- also in England only, there will be £38 paid to staff on Bands 5, 6, 7 and 8(a) who are required to register to practice – this money is a contribution to their professional fees.
Full details will be available on the health pages of the UNISON website. They will also be circulated to health branches, and sent to all UNISON members in the NHS, together with ballot papers.
Ballot papers are due to be sent out on 20 August. The ballot will close on 13 September.