NURSES GET CASH TONIC
6.5% pay boost for NHS workers
MORE than a million NHS staff will receive a minimum 6.5% pay rise over the next three years.
The deal was agreed by 13 unions representing cleaners, nurses, security guards, paramedics, midwives and other workers.
Bosses hope that as well as a morale boost, it will make the ailing health service more attractive to recruits.
Staff will get the money in July pay packets, backdated to April.
The agreement, which follows months of negotiation, will be covered by an extra £4.2billion of government funding.
Unions said it meant a significant boost for the lowest-paid staff. Hospital caterers, porters, administrators and others on the bottom grades will receive at least £2,000 more this year, an 11%-13% increase. Every NHS worker in England will now be paid at least £8.93 an hour, or £17,460 if they are full-time. Unison’s Sara Gorton said: “This won’t solve all the NHS problems, but will go a long way to easing financial strain.” Josie Irwin, of the Royal College of Nursing, said it was “muchneeded” and “should make the profession more attractive”. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “It’s a welldeserved pay rise. Salaries will increase between 6.5% and 29%.” The GMB was the only union rejecting the offer, claiming it amounted to real-term pay cuts for more than half of NHS workers.
The Star Says: Page 6