Nurses’ ‘unreasonable pay demand will raise inflation’

‘They are demanding a massive pay rise of 17.6 per cent that is neither reasonable nor affordable’

THE demand by striking nurses for a 17 per cent pay rise is unreasonable and will lead to inflation, the Health Secretary has warned.

Steve Barclay said industrial action by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which is threatening a walkout before Christmas, would lead to the cancellation of thousands of operations, including for patients with life-threatening diseases.

As a second union said it was consulting a further 10,000 nurses on strike action, dozens of hospitals prepared for backlogs created by an estimated three million procedures being delayed. The Health Secretary said that while he had “immense gratitude” for the work of nurses, he had been “saddened” by the vote to strike and warned the RCN was “demanding a massive pay rise of 17.6 per cent, an increase that is neither reasonable nor affordable”.

He said: “In fact, it is around three times the average settlement that millions of hard-working Telegraph readers who work outside the public sector will typically receive,” defending a “proportionate and balanced increase” of 4.75 per cent next year instead.

Last month, the Office for National Statistics reported average annual wage growth in the UK was six per cent, while inflation hit 10.1 per cent.

Mr Barclay said nurses had received a pay rise of three per cent last year when public sector pay was frozen, and warned another substantial rise would contribute to inflation.

“Huge settlements like these would only drive inflation further, which will have an adverse impact on people’s incomes in the long run,” he said in an article for The Sunday Telegraph.

Strikes already announced will affect around half of hospitals in England and Wales, kicking in before Christmas.

The RCN has said it is committed to maintaining urgent and emergency care during the strikes but that there would inevitably be “disruption”.

Mr Barclay’s intervention suggests he has made no further progress negotiating with the union, following tense talks earlier this week, and points to a “winter of discontent” in the NHS.

It comes as Unite, the UK’s largest trade union, announced almost 10,000 further NHS workers – including those in frontline patient care – will be balloted on walkouts this winter.

Ballots are being sent out across 36 NHS trusts and organisations and voting closes before Christmas, raising the prospect of strike action in January.

Sharon Graham, the union’s general secretary, said that members were “fighting for the very existence of the NHS itself ” and urged Rishi Sunak to “do good by the NHS and its workers” in Thursday’s Autumn Statement.

Walkouts are expected to worsen the existing crisis in waiting times in the NHS, which stand at an all-time high.

More than seven million people – one in eight Britons – are waiting for tests or treatment, with a record number of people waiting for cancer treatment.

Medical chiefs have warned that patients are already dying because of the backlogs, with the longest ever waits at A&E recorded last month.

NHS guidelines suggest 95 per cent of patients should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours, but that target has not been met nationally since 2015.

All of us feel immensely grateful to our amazing NHS nurses. They care for us when we are at our most vulnerable and show compassion and kindness each day. During the pandemic, they demonstrated exemplary commitment through the greatest challenge the NHS has faced in its 74-year history. Quite rightly, we all joined together to applaud them. As Health and Social Care Secretary, I will always do my utmost to support nurses in the vital work they do.

This Government is investing in the NHS workforce, with an extra 9,000 nurses recruited this year. We are on track to fulfil our promise of an extra 50,000 nurses over the course of the current parliamentary term.

But this week, I was saddened by the news that some members of the Royal College of Nursing have voted for industrial action in a ballot over pay. This year, amid the huge pressure on the public finances after the pandemic, the Government gave nurses a proportionate, balanced pay increase.

This extra money was not determined by ministers, but a group of independent experts, who had to wrestle with the challenging task of calculating an offer that would support recruitment and retention while also taking into consideration the urgent need to keep inflation down.

Despite the immense economic challenges this country faces, we accepted the recommendations of this independent body in full. This means that we are giving over one million non-medical NHS workers a pay rise of at least £1,400 this year, on top of a 3 per cent pay increase last year when wider public sector pay was frozen.

As a result, a newly qualified nurse will now typically earn over £31,000 a year including overtime and unsocial hours payments – and senior nurses will take home over £40,000. This is a balanced increase, that is fair for nurses and the taxpayer too.

Yet the RCN is demanding a massive pay rise of 17.6 per cent; an increase

A massive 17.6 per cent pay increase is neither reasonable nor affordable and I urge unions to reconsider

Settlements like these would turbocharge inflation when we are endeavouring to keep it under control

that is simply neither reasonable nor affordable. It is about three times the average settlement that millions of hardworking people, including many Sunday Telegraph readers, working outside the public sector will typically receive. Huge settlements like these would turbocharge inflation when we are endeavouring to keep it under control. It will have an adverse impact on people’s incomes in the long run.

Last week, I had a constructive meeting with the leadership of the RCN the day after the ballot results were announced. I listened to their concerns, not just about pay but many other issues affecting nurses’ working lives. I believe there are numerous areas where we can work together to help fix the NHS, tackle the pandemic backlog and deliver the care that patients deserve.

My door will always be open. I want to continue the dialogue we started and explore how to find a way forward. But the Government cannot agree to unreasonable pay demands. If the RCN does go ahead with industrial action, I will make sure that emergency services continue to operate for those that need them most, and patients should continue to come forward for emergency services as normal.

But it is inevitable that any strike would mean some patients will have their treatment delayed, and I would urge the unions to consider the impact on those who rely on the NHS for their care. We are facing a difficult winter for our whole country and industrial action is in nobody’s best interests.