Health workers across the NHS are facing severe hardship due to the current economic crisis and the effect of a below inflation pay deal. With inflation running at a 16-year high, NHS unions have joined forces to press the Government to reopen pay talks for next year. The unions argue that the three-year pay deal agreed earlier this year is now leaving hundreds of thousands of NHS workers struggling to make ends meet.
In their evidence to the independent NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB), the unions argue that another cycle of boom and bust in the health labour market is just around the corner. A combination of students having to leave their courses because of financial pressures and an ageing workforce facing imminent retirement will leave the NHS with severe staff shortages and an inevitable impact on patient care.
In their bid to reopen pay talks for 2009, the unions point to evidence gathered from their members that highlights the mounting pressures on NHS workers. In nursing, more than 25 per cent of students are dropping out of their courses, record numbers of nurses are accessing help on managing debt and house repossessions and an increasing number of workers across the sector have been forced to take second jobs due to the rising costs of fuel, food and childcare.
Karen Jennings, staff side Chair, said:
