THE prospect of NHS strikes stepped closer yesterday as Unison members in England rejected the government’s 3 per cent pay offer by an overwhelming 80 per cent.

The union, which is demanding a minimum £2,000 rise, said that the result of its summer consultation would trigger an indicative ballot to gauge support for the sustained and widespread industrial action it believes necessary to change ministers’ minds.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing have already overwhelmingly rejected the 3 per cent offer in England, and members of Unite and GMB are also expected to give it a massive thumbs-down.

As Unison delegates gather for their online health conference, which starts today, the union said that health workers were angry that rising inflation had already wiped out their recent rise, even before the 10 per cent hike in national insurance payments.

Tens of thousands of “exhausted” workers who took part in the online consultation, including nurses, healthcare assistants, ambulance workers and hospital porters, were fed up with being taken for granted, the union said.  

With the NHS already 100,000 employees short and nearly six million patients on waiting lists, staff are facing what is predicted to be its worst-ever winter, and many have said they are likely to leave for less stressful and better paid jobs elsewhere.

Sara Gorton, the union’s head of health, said: “The fact that so many health staff say they are willing to stand together to challenge the 3 per cent should make the government think twice. 

“Many feel so let down they’re telling us they feel like quitting overnight.   

“Boris Johnson said he would give the NHS what it needed. Instead, rising costs mean staff will be no better off, adding to low morale, burnout and disillusion.

“Hospital admissions are rising, the backlog feels overwhelming, and the threat of the worst winter ever is looming large. 

“Unison gave the pay review body and the government compelling evidence that a minimum £2,000 rise would be enough to persuade people to stay, but both chose to disregard this.  

“With the lowest paid health workers hit the hardest, the government is doing the opposite of levelling up. Ministers must put this right.” 

A government spokesman said: “NHS staff — from doctors and nurses to paramedics and porters — are rightly receiving a 3 per cent pay rise this year in recognition of their extraordinary efforts throughout this global pandemic.”