Union members reject pay insult

THOUSANDS OF NHS workers have rejected the government's below-inflation three-year pay offer. The GMB union, representing 25,000 NHS staff such as ambulance crews, catering staff and ancillary workers, voted against the three-year offer by 95%.

Building workers in Ucatt voted by 83.8% against the offer to their 4,000 NHS members. Members of the Royal College of Midwives, seen more as a professional body than a trade union, opposed the deal by a resounding 99.5%.

12,000 members of the Unite union in the health service also rejected the deal.

The right-wing leadership in Unison, which covers the vast bulk of trade unionised workers in the NHS, says that if "Unison and the Royal College of Nursing support [the deal], there will be an agreement."

That may be so, but most of Unison's NHS members would not support the deal. The bulk of delegates at April's Unison health conference, who are far more in touch with the anger of workers, voted for a membership ballot against the proposals, that would mean a real cut in pay.