Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt blocks one per cent pay rise for 600,000 NHS workers

 
13 March 2014
WEST END FINAL

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Jeremy Hunt went to war with health unions today by blocking a one per cent pay rise for 600,000 NHS workers.

Nurses, midwives, doctors and other health workers benefiting from pay progression contracts will not get the one per cent cost-of-living increase.

The Health Secretary argued that these workers — slightly more than half of the NHS workforce — already get a pay hike worth on average three per cent a year.

He brushed aside a recommendation from the independent NHS pay review body for a one per cent cost-of-living rise across the NHS.

In stark terms, Mr Hunt warned such an increase “would risk reductions in front line staff that could lead to unsafe patient care”.

But furious health unions threatened strike action and accused Mr Hunt of showing “contempt” for NHS staff.

“The Government seems to want to push us into a fight before the general election,” said Christina McAnea, UNISON head of health.

“If that’s what they want, that is what they will get.”

Nearly all NHS staff will get at least a one per cent rise, though not 400 of the most senior managers.

But this rise will not be on top of pay progression increases.

Unions, though, insisted the incremental pay rises were not automatic and came as individuals’ careers progressed.

They were infuriated further after it emerged that this below-inflation increase of one per cent in April will be “ non-consolidated” - meaning it would be a one-off.

NHS employees’ base pay will remain the same and the extra one per cent will not be reflected in pension payments.

Mr Hunt is proposing a similar rise in 2015 despite a warning against such a move from the review body that it could hit staff morale.

It stressed: “We are not persuaded that the short-term financial advantage to be gained from a non-consolidated award would outweigh the potentially adverse impact on staff engagement and motivation of a non-consolidated, non-pensionable uplift of what would be a relatively small amount of money for individual staff.”

The Health Secretary branded the current pay progression system as “unfair”, by better rewarding more senior staff, and stressed the salary clampdown aims to save £200 million a year.

“It is not possible to maintain appropriate numbers of front line staff, give

a general pay rise of one per cent and pay for incremental progression,” he added.

But Unison said 70 per cent of nurses will receive no wage rise after the Government “took a scalpel” to the recommendations from the health pay review body.

Unite and The GMB union are to ballot their members on industrial action.

Rehana Azam, national officer of the GMB, said: “Our members across the country will take the blocking of a full one pay rise as a personal insult.”

Unveiling a series of proposed below-inflation pay deals, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander stressed the one per cent cap for most public sector workers was needed for Britain to deal with its debt crisis and protect jobs and front-line services.

  • The armed forces, judges and most prison officers will get a one per cent rise.
  • Contracted GPs and other doctors and dentists will receive a one per cent pay increase.
  • Departments will get flexibility to award pay rises to 3,600 senior civil servants within an overall limit of a one per cent rise.

Whitehall officials have also identified a £1 billion black hole in pension provisions for teachers, NHS workers and civil servants.

Employees will not be asked to pay more to plug the shortfall but Education Secretary Michael Gove will have to find between £300 million and £500 million, Mr Hunt some £100 million and other departments between £200 million and £300 million for the civil service shortfall.

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