Unison's NHS workers vote to back strike action over pay in England
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Version 0 of 1. NHS workers in England who are members of Unison, including nurses, occupational therapists, porters and others, have voted to back strike action in a row over pay in England. Of those who voted, 68% were in favour of being prepared to take part in a strike, while 32% said no. The ballot also asked if members were prepared to take part in action short of strike action; 88% agreed while 12% voted against. The dispute is over pay, with union officials saying that 60% of NHS staff and 70% of nurses will not get a pay rise for the next two years. This has created a demoralised workforce, according to Unison general secretary Dave Prentis. Unison is the UK's largest health union, with 300,000 NHS members in England. There are 10 unions balloting NHS staff over pay, and plans over the date and type of action to be taken are still to be made. Prentis said: "This government's treatment of NHS workers has angered them and this anger has now turned into action. Refusing to pay them even a paltry 1% shows what the government really thinks about its health workers. Inflation has continued to rise since 2011 and the value of NHS pay has fallen by around 12%. "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. "If we move into industrial action we will work with NHS employers to minimise the impact on patients. But it's not too late for Jeremy Hunt to act to avoid this and we repeat our offer to the government to negotiate with us. To date the secretary of state has refused to meet with health unions to negotiate pay." |