NHS Unions say the Health Secretary must finish the job – and fix pay

Commenting on today’s speech by health secretary Yvette Cooper at the Labour Party conference, the Chair of the NHS unions (and head of health at the public services union UNISON) Helga Pile said:

“The health secretary is right to praise the NHS as ‘our country’s greatest achievement’, and recognise the immense contribution of staff.

“Applause and words of thanks never go amiss. But for the NHS to have any chance of delivering what the government wants it must operate as one team where all are properly valued and supported to give their best.

“The secretary of state is responsible for the whole NHS workforce. But the vast majority, such as nurses, paramedics, porters, physios, midwives and support workers, are effectively treated as second-class to the few – the doctors who continually get higher pay awards.

“After a summer from hell, NHS workers are now expected to brace themselves for winter pressures. But all this is happening while they continue to wait on a promise made two years ago to fix problems with their pay structure.

“Much has been made of the UK’s renewal at Labour conference, but there was nothing in today’s speech to give these NHS workers ‘hope’ they’ll see a successful outcome to pay talks with unions.

“These ground to a halt when the health secretary’s two predecessors left in quick succession. Many staff will be left with the impression that the only way to achieve pay improvements is through the sort of strike action that led to resident doctors getting a significant boost.

“Yvette Cooper must do what it takes to get a deal through. That means getting swift agreement for the level of investment we need to sort out the pay structure. An urgent meeting with unions immediately after conference is now a necessity.”

In April this year, ministers imposed a 3.3% pay increase on workers on the NHS Agenda for Change salary scale, following a pay review body recommendation. The below-inflation award came with a pledge to start formal negotiations to tackle issues with the increasingly outdated wage structure, and backdate any improvements in pay to April.

Pay awards for staff on the NHS Agenda for Change salary scale have been considerably below those given to doctors and dentists. Over the past four years, resident doctors have seen their pay rise at double the rate of staff on Agenda for Change contracts. Cumulative uplifts for resident doctors in England from 2023 to 2026 have topped up their pay by 35%. Agenda for Change staff have had headline pay rises of 18.5% in the same period.

Secretary of the NHS unions (and Chartered Society of Physiotherapy assistant director) Jim Fahie added: “The health secretary faces some big challenges and NHS staff will be central to tackling most of them.

“That makes it essential to fix the longstanding issues in the NHS pay structure that are causing some staff to be stuck on low pay and others to face unacceptable barriers to making progress.

“Many of the problems in the NHS will be complex to solve but making much-needed improvements to the pay structure can actually be quite simple if the government works with us to deliver on what has been promised repeatedly.”

Pharmacists employed by NHS employers are directly impacted by this issue and the PDA are fully participating on their behalf.  The staff side chair and secretary are speaking on behalf of all fourteen Agenda for Change unions.