Healthcare unions call for ‘pay justice’ as coronavirus pandemic follows years of austerity

The Royal College of Nursing, Unison and the GMB Union submit pay claims to secure increments

Unions representing health workers, including nurses, cleaners, porters, paramedics and ambulance staff, are submitting claims for pay rises for hundreds of thousands of staff following years of austerity.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), Unison and the GMB Union have said now is the time to reward NHS workers as they battled against the coronavirus crisis this year.

The RCN’s Fair Pay for Nursing campaign is demanding a 12.5 per cent pay rise for nursing staff across the UK.

The GMB said its claim was for a 15 per cent pay rise, while Unison’s demand would see every NHS employee receiving an increase of at least £2,000 by the end of this year.

Unison, the UK’s biggest union, said this rise is equivalent to around £1 an hour extra for all staff, including healthcare assistants, radiographers, porters, midwives and paramedics.

If the claim is accepted, minimum wages in the NHS would exceed £20,000 per year for the first time, more than £20,400 annually in Scotland, said the union.

In a letter to the prime minister, Unison pointed towards Boris Johnson’s own struggle with Covid-19, asking him if his “recent personal experiences taught you about the value of what [the NHS staff] do”.

“They are now looking for you to reflect that in their pay. So, Prime Minister, why wait?” it added.

The unions said that NHS workers have endured a decade of real terms pay cuts despite the country relying on them more than ever.

Dame Donna Kinnair, general secretary of the RCN, said: “The Fair Pay for Nursing campaign is about recognising the skill, experience and responsibility demonstrated every day, in every year, by nursing support workers, nursing associates, registered nurses and all members of the profession.

“This is about more than the profession’s response to Covid-19 – it is about increasing the attractiveness of the profession, to fill tens of thousands of unfilled nursing jobs and reach safe staffing levels. It is time to pay nursing staff fairly.”

Rachel Harrison, GMB national officer, added that the NHS were at “breaking point” before the pandemic hit, and the crisis “has exacerbated the situation”.

“Staff put their own lives on the line, attending work to care for others, whilst being in fear for the safety of themselves and their families.

“They have been failed at all key points during the crisis, particularly when it came to pay, PPE and testing,” she said. “Now is the time for the Government to make amends.

“Now is the time to pay up. That’s why GMB is calling for pay justice, a real terms pay increase that makes up for the approximate loss of 15 per cent.

“Substantial enough to repair the decade of austerity and real terms pay cuts suffered by our key workers in the NHS and privatised companies operating within it.”