Last Updated: 15 April 2008

Health workers to vote on pay offer

(15/04/08) UNISON is to ballot half a million health workers on whether they want to accept or reject the multi-year pay deal on offer for NHS workers, following negotiations with government.

Following a lively and full debate which saw dozens of delegates lining up to discuss the issues, the union's health service group conference in Manchester voted to ask members directly whether the offer was acceptable or not in a ballot.

The offer is worth 2.75%, 2.54% and 2.5% over three years (or 8.1% in total), though a number of other clauses mean that around 60% of union members will benefit by more than those amounts.

Conference recognised that the offer is complex and meets a number of union aims decided by conference by previous conference policy, including:

• weighting towards lower paid members;
• increasing the NHS minimum wage to £6.77 an hour - above UNISON's £6.75 minimum wage target - in 2009 and £6.98 in 2010 for an increase of 15% over three years;
• removing of the lowest pay point, a step towards merging bands 1 and 2 of the pay scale;
reducing the number of incremental pay points in band 5, plus additional money for the 25% of staff at the top of band 5 who get no incremental rise;
• a clause allowing the figures for years 2 and 3 to be revisited via evidence to the NHS pay review body if economic circumstances warrant it;
• commitments to talks on reducing the number of pay points in other long pay bands and negotiations on UNISON's claim for a progressive reduction.

However, conference recognised that it does not meet union policy calling for a 'substantial' pay rise above RPI inflation, though the first year's increase is more than the CPI inflation rate of 2.5%.

Conference voted to give "all members working in health and affected by this pay proposal" the say on whether to accept or reject it, while noting that rejection would need members to be "prepared to take lawful industrial action to secure a higher award".

Moving the successful motion to hold a ballot in May, healthcare service group executive chair Lilian Macer said it "guarantees members the right to accept or reject the only offer on the table.

"The important thing is it give members the information and power to make this important choice."

More details on the offer: Health Pay Matters

UNISON in health care