Members of the GMB union voted to accept the government’s wage offer for NHS workers, meaning a deal is almost certain to go through and pave the way for an end to hospital chaos.
Tens of thousands of GMB workers, including ambulance workers, paramedics, drivers and other healthcare professionals, voted 56% to 44% in favor of the agreement.
This follows the rejection of the proposal by members of the Unite union on Friday and the Royal College of Nursing earlier this month.
Even though Unite and RCN did not vote, the combined membership of GMB and Unison, which previously voted for the deal, means the NHS Works Council is also likely to support it at next Tuesday’s meeting.
The agreement, agreed after weeks of negotiations with ministers, provides that all NHS employees, except doctors and dentists, receive a cash bonus of an average of 6 percent of wages for the 2022-23 financial year and a 5 percent pay increase this year. . Percent.
The nurses will continue their strike on Sunday and Monday, with a 4,000-strong Unite strike next week, but the GMB vote makes future NHS strikes less likely.
The margin in favor of the deal turned out to be larger than many insiders expected. Voter turnout was 51 percent.
GMB National Secretary Rachel Harrison said: “This new wage proposal would not have happened without a strike by GMB paramedics and other healthcare workers.
“GMB members voted to accept the proposal, which means that the GMB union will vote on the wage proposal in the NHS Joint Workers’ Council next week.
“Our members recognize that progress has been made – the government, which initially proposed nothing, will improve the situation of medical workers by thousands of pounds.
“It also fulfills the GMB’s key demand for a significant increase in wages for the lowest paid workers, on top of real livelihoods.
“But much more needs to be done for workers if we are all to get the NHS we need. GMB needs to take action for ER staff, starting with their retirement and irregular working hours.
“Today, this is just one step in the fight to recover the ten years of lost income that NHS workers have suffered. The GMB will continue this fight so that the NHS and the ambulance staff who serve and care for the community finally get the fair deal they deserve.”
The NHS Staff Council is responsible for the health pay system and is made up of health workers unions, NHS employers, Health and Human Services and NHS England.
Health Minister Steve Barclay said: “Today’s decision by GMB members to accept the salary offer, following Unison representing the majority of NHS staff, the Royal College of Midwives and the Certified Society of Physiotherapists, shows that this is a fair and reasonable offer. which could put an end to this controversy.
“I have always said that I want a fair decision that recognizes the excellent work of NHS staff and also defends the government’s commitment to halving inflation, and I am confident that the NHS Staff Council will accept our proposal next week.”
The RCN plans to announce a new all-or-nothing strike next week to extend its strike mandate for another six months. The announcement is expected to be made on Tuesday, May 2, the day of the NHS Staff Council meeting.
Source: I News
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