Union stakes claim in wage debate

Leaders of 440,000 health workers will today attempt to pre-empt a statutory minimum wage by launching a campaign to win a bottom rate of pounds 4.26 an hour.

While ministers are expected to set a lower limit of between pounds 3 and pounds 3.50 next year, Unison, the country's largest union, wants around pounds 1 more. However, Bob Abberley, Head of Health at Unison, insisted there was no question of industrial confrontation with the Government over pay in the near future. Barrie Clement