The most experienced frontline nurses are around £6000 per year worse off.
NHS workers should receive an early pay rise of 15 per cent or £3,000, whichever is greater, Unite said today.
Unite, which has 100,000 members in the health service, also demanded that pay discussions between the government, the NHS and health trade unions start without delay.
It will now write to the government to lodge its pay claim for the NHS workforce, seeking to restore the pay that NHS workers have “lost” in the decade of austerity since 2010.
The continuing seven-month battle against coronavirus had further heightened the public’s appreciation of NHS staff, claims the union.
Figures suggest that the most experienced frontline nurses are around £6000 per year worse off due to wages failing to keep up with the rate of inflation (RPI).
The announcement comes after the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) called for a 12.5% raise for its members.
Can’t survive on warn words.
Unite national officer for health Colenzo Jarrett-Thorpe said: “Unite’s national health committee has decided its claim for NHS staff – a 15 per cent pay rise or £3,000 – should be the first stage in the journey to rectify in real terms what NHS employees have ‘lost’ since the Tories came to power in 2010.
“Hundreds of health and social care staff have lost their lives in the continuing battle against Covid-19 which has heightened the deep appreciation that the public has for the NHS and those who work in it.
“This public esteem for NHS workers should be reflected by the government which needs to respond by opening pay discussions, following our claim and those of our sister unions, with no further procrastination or stalling tactics.
“Our members, living in the real world, can’t survive on warm words of praise by ministers and the past weeks of Thursday evening clapping, as the bills flood in.”
Adding; “Many, including prime minister Boris Johnson, owe their lives to the NHS – and now is the time to acknowledge that 24/7 commitment with a decent pay rise that reflects the sentiments of a grateful and relieved country.”