NHS Pay Cuts

 NHS workers received a 3% pay deal in 2021. Ministers have asked the NHS pay review body to recommend a similar award for this year.

However, inflation has soared to 9% – the highest level since the early 1980s – as Russia’s war in Ukraine exacerbates soaring wholesale energy prices. The Bank of England expects inflation to peak close to 10% later this year.

Should ministers push through a 3% settlement for NHS workers, the TUC said nurses and paramedics would suffer a £2,000 cut in the inflation-adjusted value of their pay. For maternity care assistants it would represent a real-term cut of £1,200 and for hospital porters a £1,000 reduction.

 The TUC calculates nurses are £5,200 poorer compared with 2010 when pay is adjusted for inflation.

Christina McAnea, the general secretary of the Unison trade union, said soaring inflation had “made a nonsense” of a 3% pay deal.

“Overworked, demoralised and experienced staff need much more if they are to be persuaded to stay and see the NHS through the worst crisis in its history,” she said.

Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary, said: “Our brilliant key workers in the NHS helped get Britain through the pandemic. But many are now at breaking point – struggling to afford the basics and put food on the table. Any offer that falls below the cost of living will be a hammer blow to staff morale – especially as staff shortages continue to cripple vital services – and many NHS workers may choose to vote with their feet.”

Nurses in England face £1,600 real-terms hit if NHS pay rises 3% | Public sector pay | The Guardian