Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
2% pay hint means fight to save NHS
A UNION has said the start of NHS pay talks for next year suggest that “we are in a fight to save the NHS”.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay wrote to the NHS Pay Review Body to remind it that the Government’s inflation target is 2%.
Unite has taken this as the opening gambit over what pay settlement NHS carers should get for 2023.
The Government is already in dispute with health unions over its 4-5% rise with inflation at 12.6%.
Unite’s Sharon Graham said: “The NHSPRB board are clearly aware that without proper wages the exodus of healthcare staff will get worse, risking the very survival of the NHS.”
The Department of Health said: “We have committed to give NHS workers a rise next year.”