NHS nurses, healthcare assistants and porters vote to strike over pay

First NHS staff strike since 1982

Members of Unison, which represents 300,000 nurses, healthcare assistants, porters and other staff, voted for strike action over pay by a two thirds majority (Getty Images)

NHS staff in England have voted to strike over pay in a decision which could kick-start the biggest wave of industrial action in the health service since the Thatcher era.

Members of Unison, which represents 300,000 nurses, healthcare assistants, porters and other staff, voted for strike action over pay by a two thirds majority.

Nine other unions, including Unite, GMB and the Royal College of Midwives are balloting for strike action, with results due in the coming weeks.

Anger over the Government’s decision, made earlier this year, to deny NHS staff a universal one per cent pay rise, has led to widespread discontent within the health service, which is experiencing the longest and most severe budget squeeze in its 66-year history.

The Government claims that the universal pay award, which is also set to be denied next year, is unaffordable, and would mean that NHS trusts would have to cut jobs to break even.

Unison said that any industrial action would be planned with NHS employers to minimise the impact on patients. The decision over whether to strike will be taken once other unions have returned their ballots.

The last time NHS staff went on strike over pay was in 1982, when a three-day strike shook the health service under Margaret Thatcher. More recently, a one-day strike of public sector unions over pension rights in 2011 led to NHS walkouts.

A spokesperson for Unison said that in the event of a strike, the union would work with employers to plan rotas and ensure safe staffing levels were in place on wards.

“Patient safety is at the heart of what we are doing,” she said. “NHS staff care about their patients and there is no chance of a paramedic walking out halfway through taking a patient to hospital or anything like that.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said the Government was “disappointed” by staff’s decision.

NHS staff receive annual pay increases as they acquire more experience, until they reach the top of the pay scale for their job. These increases have been left in place, and all staff who have already reached the top of their pay scale will get the Government’s one per cent pay rise.

However, in taking their decision the Government ignored advice from its independent pay review body, which had recommended a one per cent pay rise for all staff, regardless of whether they were still getting incremental pay awards.

Government officials believe that the incremental pay increases are outdated and the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has expressed a preference for performance-related pay in the health service – an approach which unions say would lead to a “production line” approach to patient care.

The threat of strike action comes amid further evidence of a looming financial crisis in the health service. Official figures expected to be released tomorrow are expected to show that the majority of NHS hospital trusts are now in financial deficit.

Although the Government has protected the health budget from cuts, spending on the NHS has barely risen above inflation this Parliament, at a time of rising demand for services from a growing and ageing population.

Many within the health service now believe that the next government will have to increase health spending or risk serious decline in the quality of NHS services.

Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said the strike vote was a result of the Government’s treatment of NHS workers.

“Refusing to pay them even a paltry one per cent shows what the Government really thinks about its health workers,” he said. “Inflation has continued to rise since 2011 and the value of NHS pay has fallen by around 12 per cent.

“We know health workers don’t take strike action lightly or often. The last action over pay was 32 years ago. But we also know a demoralised and demotivated workforce isn’t good for patients.”

Unison’s NHS staff in Wales are also being balloted for strike action, with the results due by the end of the month.