Unions have blasted a review body decision that more than a million staff should get a £1,400 permanent cash rise backdated to April 2022, instead of the usual percentage rise across the board. For many it’s just 4%, a real-terms cut. The TUC said hospital porters’ real-terms pay will be down by £200 this year while nurses fall by £1,100 and paramedics by £1,500.
That means the percentage rise varies massively depending what you earn. While the government claimed it could be as high as 9.3% for porters and cleaners – 7.4% excluding a top-up that’s already happened – the average basic pay for nurses will rise by around 4%, from around £35,600 to around £37,000.
That is well below the current level of RPI inflation of 11.7%. The Government’s preferred CPI measure of inflation stands at 9.1% and unions will now ballot over possible industrial action.
UNISON’s Sara Gorton said: “This is nowhere near what’s needed to save the NHS.”
Full story in The Mirror, 19 July 2022