Len Hockey, Unite branch secretary, Barts Health Trust, east London
NHS workers hoping to see real moves towards restoration of the 40% real-terms pay cut suffered in the last 15 years will be sorely disappointed at the measly 2.8% recommendation by the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB).
The recommendation, if not significantly increased, will mean 200,000 Band 2 workers being paid below the £12.60 per hour Real Living Wage rate.
This spectacularly fails to tackle the recruitment and retention crisis, with over 100,000 vacancies in England.
My union Unite has a policy for abolition of the long-discredited PRB and instead calls for direct negotiations with the government for health workers. With the financial envelope set by government, the supposedly independent body has delivered year-on-year real-terms reductions in pay.
Health unions must immediately respond to this recommendation and call reps’ meetings, and coordinate campaigning and strike ballots.
The decision by this austerity-driven New Labour government, in the sixth-richest economy in the world, to deny the necessary funding for healthcare can be defeated. A real wage increase can be won, but only if the required leadership is given.
