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PRESSURE is increasing on the government to award a long-awaited pay rise for NHS workers before Parliament breaks up for the summer recess next week.
Unison said it was now more than 100 days since the wage increase was due and almost a year since the union appealed to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to grant staff a £2,000 rise across the board.
It said health staff were increasingly worried that ministers would not announce an NHS pay rise before MPs go on their summer break.
The NHS pay review body (PRB) reported to ministers three weeks ago following March’s recommendation by the government that no more than 1 per cent could be afforded, which sparked anger among NHS staff.
More than 30,000 health workers have now signed an open letter calling on the PM to pay.
In May, health workers in Scotland accepted a pay rise from the Scottish government that is worth at least 4 per cent for most staff.
Unison’s head of health Sara Gorton said: “It’s in Boris Johnson’s gift to grant staff a fair deal. Yet he’s still making them wait.
“It’s 320 days since Unison wrote to Boris Johnson asking for a £2,000 increase for every NHS worker, but health workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland still don’t know what they’ll get.
“Staff who’ve done so much during the pandemic are being treated as an afterthought while MPs head off on their holidays, and infections are rising, which means pressure is piling back on the whole health team once again.
“The least the government can do is confirm now that staff will get a decent pay rise.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are incredibly grateful to all our NHS staff.
“This year the government has committed to providing NHS staff with a pay uplift, at a time when uplifts in the wider public sector have been paused.
“In doing so, the government is acknowledging the extraordinary effort of NHS staff through the pandemic.
“We have received the reports from the independent pay review bodies and are now carefully considering their recommendations before responding.”
