UK unions split over government pay offer for health workers (updated)

GMB

28/04/2023 12:17

(Releads with GMB result)
    By Kylie MacLellan and Farouq Suleiman
       LONDON, April 28 (Reuters) - British healthcare and
ambulance workers belonging to the GMB trade union have voted to
accept a government pay offer, the union said on Friday, hours
after members of another union rejected it.
    The offer, agreed between the government and healthcare
union leaders last month, included a one-off payment equivalent
to 2% of salaries in the 2022/23 financial year and a 5% pay
rise for 2023/24. 
    GMB's backing means the offer has been accepted by four
unions representing National Health Service (NHS) workers whose
members include midwives, physiotherapists and ambulance
workers.
    The long-running dispute has led to hundreds of thousands of
NHS staff taking strike action over the last few months, adding
to strains on the health service.
    Other public sector workers in Britain, including teachers,
as well as train staff have staged strikes in recent months as
they demand higher pay deals in the face of an inflation rate
that remains above 10%. The government of Prime Minister Rishi
Sunak has said big pay deals could fuel future inflation.
    The NHS staff council, which includes representatives from
NHS employers and trade unions, is due to meet on May 2 to vote
on whether to accept the offer.
    The GMB's leadership said it would now vote in favour of the
pay offer, after 56% of its members who voted in a ballot
accepted the deal. Turnout was 51%.
    "This new pay offer would not have happened without the
strike action taken by ambulance and other GMB health workers,"
said Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary.
    "Our members recognise that progress has been made - from
the government originally offering nothing, health workers will
be thousands of pounds better off."     
    Earlier, the Unite trade union said it planned fresh strike
action after 52% of its members who took part in the ballot
voted against the offer. Turnout in that ballot was 55%.
    "Unite was clear from the start it was very unlikely this
offer would be accepted," Unite general secretary Sharon Graham
said in a statement. "Unite’s members will now return to the
picket line to continue their fight."
    The nurses union, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) also
rejected the offer earlier this month and it plans a further
strike.

 (Editing by William Schomberg and Sarah Young)
 ((kylie.maclellan@thomsonreuters.com;))