UNISON is leading NHS pay negotiations starting today with government ministers. Our head of health, Sara Gorton, will be proceeding with caution but going to the table with the aim of resolving the dispute.
Thousands of ambulance staff, hospital workers and staff at NHS Blood and Transplant were due to walk out tomorrow in a significant escalation in our strike action. But the pressure from several days of strike action from December to February, and from new strike mandates secured in the past few weeks, has built on the government.
As I visited picket lines during our strike days, it was clear that the determination from our members to win fair pay was only growing stronger and stronger the longer the government failed to act.
These negotiations could have opened up as long ago as last July. That’s when UNISON first warned the government that the £1,400 flat rate pay award was not enough to deal with the staffing crisis in the NHS, or to avoid going into dispute with health unions.
After months of intransigence and missed opportunities by the government, the brave action of thousands of NHS workers has forced ministers to move from their position, offer more money for this year and next year and start negotiations.
Ignoring NHS workers for this long was a big mistake and refusing to take their concerns seriously has been hugely damaging for all involved. But, in good faith, we took their offer to start talks seriously.
The decision to suspend our strike action was made democratically by health members at the end of last week, but as no deal has been struck yet, we continue to prepare for further strike action should we need it if talks break down.
Lay members and UNISON officials will be closely monitoring progress of the talks, and we’re all clear that the dispute is not over yet. It will only be over when the dedicated and experienced staff working across the NHS, accept a deal that gives them the fair pay they deserve.
