The damage inflicted on the living standards of NHS staff by the Government’s pay freezes and caps has been underlined by new figures, which show the average health worker enduring a real terms cut of almost £2,000 over the past seven years.
The figure, highlighted by the GMB union, will intensify the pressure on the Government to lift the 1 per cent public sector pay cap, for all public sector workers.
The median average salary of all NHS staff in June 2017 was £31,526 a year, according to data from the health service released on Thursday.
That compares with a like-for-like figure of £29,132 in August 2010.
Consumer price inflation has risen by 15 per cent over that period, translating into a real terms cut for these workers of £1,985 a year.
Yet the average conceals that some NHS workers have suffered still bigger real terms reductions in pay.
The pay of ambulance staff is down £5,286 in real terms and for midwives it is £3,504 lower.
Full story in The Independent, 21 September 2017