Welsh NHS staff ‘deserve more’ than a 3% rise

I agree with what the member said that they deserve more but that money has to be from somewhere and it could only be found from doing even less to provide the services First Minister Mark Drakeford

THE First Minister has admitted that NHS Wales staff “deserve more” than the 3% pay rise being offered to them by the Welsh Government.

However Mark Drakeford conceded that the government cannot afford to offer much more as it will eat into the funding given to vital services within the health service.

He said that in order to meet the 3% recommended by an independent pay review body earlier this year the Welsh Government was having to fund 2% of it on its own at a cost of £100m.

Both the Royal College of Nursing in Wales and Unison Cymru Wales have voted to reject the 3% pay offer and have called on the Welsh Government to open up to further negotiations. If these talks break down it could pave the way for a vote on industrial action.

Responding to a question by Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price in the Senedd on Tuesday Mr Drakeford explained: “In order to fund that 3% pay increase we have a 1% uplift from the UK Government. So the other 2% we are having to find from within the resources that are available to us for purposes other than pay.

“Every 1% rise added to the NHS pay bill costs £50m. So the Welsh Government is funding £100m from resources that were not sent to us for pay purposes in order to make sure that we met the recommendations of the pay review body.

“Do I think that [pay offer] is enough? No, I don’t. Do I think the Welsh Government can go on funding dollops of £50m in order to increase the pay award above and beyond what we are funded to do so? The answer to that is no as well.”

The First Minister added that he is in discussions with some of the trade unions representing NHS workers but not the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) as he claims they have “chosen not to participate”.

Mr Price said the 3% pay rise represented a real-terms pay cut when taking inflation into account. “Wouldn’t this, in the wake of the heroic sacrifice over the

Wouldn’t this, in the wake of the heroic sacrifice over the last 18 months, not be a kick in the teeth for thousands of healthcare workers? Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price

last 18 months, not be a kick in the teeth for thousands of healthcare workers?” he said. The Plaid leader added: “For most NHS workers the 3% rise has already been more than cancelled by the increase in pension contributions. The new health and social care levy next year will wipe out almost half of next year’s rise and that’s even before you consider the cost of living. “There are already 1,600 vacancies in the NHS in Wales. After the year that they’ve had how will a 3% pay increase convince workers to stay when even a Labour government imposes a below-inflation pay award on nurses? Can you really blame them [for leaving] when NHS staff feel let down, undervalued, and ignored?” Mr Drakeford replied: “I don’t disagree with many of the points the member has made. What he has to face up to is: where will that money come from? “Members of his own group will no doubt be urging me to spend more money on different aspects of the health service. If I were to follow his advice we would have less money to do the things they would ask us to do because there is a fixed sum of money available. And if more of it goes into pay there is less of it to provide a service. That is a very difficult balance to strike. “I agree with what the member said that they deserve more but that money has to be from somewhere and it could only be found from doing even less to provide the services.” Mr Drakeford added that health minister Eluned Morgan was meeting unions this week to discuss a “package of measures” that the government might be able to put together.