NHS "Pay Rise" of 1% (real term pay cut)

[youngsyr]

Murmurs from a couple of nursing unions that strike action could be a possibility following a 1% pay rise being announced and reported by BBC.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56299663

Matt Hancock said the proposal was "what we think is affordable" given financial pressures caused by the Covid pandemic.

He added staff had been exempted from the wider freeze on public sector pay to reward their "incredible" work.

There's also talk of a "slow clap" for the government next Thursday.

Not a big fan of unions or strikes, but can't help but feel that a real-terms pay cut is a kick in the teeth for any NHS staff given what they've just been through.

And this government has zero credibility when it talks about affordability - remember the £1bn bung to the DUP to secure the supply and confidence agreement with the Tories?!

[dmahon]

Are people for real after the massive supposed support for the voluntary annihilation of our own economy?

For anyone who supported lockdowns then complains about a 1% pay rise, how about take a hike!

That said, it’s hilarious how we can print £400 billion then plead poverty over a 1% pay rise. Still don’t think they should get it though.

Edited by dmahon on Friday 5th March 19:06

[Quisling]

Finding it hard to care to be honest

I think MANY would love a guaranteed job with a guaranteed pay rise every year

[smashing]

youngsyr said:

Murmurs from a couple of nursing unions that strike action could be a possibility following a 1% pay rise being announced and reported by BBC.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56299663

Matt Hancock said the proposal was "what we think is affordable" given financial pressures caused by the Covid pandemic.

He added staff had been exempted from the wider freeze on public sector pay to reward their "incredible" work.

There's also talk of a "slow clap" for the government next Thursday.

Not a big fan of unions or strikes, but can't help but feel that a real-terms pay cut is a kick in the teeth for any NHS staff given what they've just been through.

And this government has zero credibility when it talks about affordability - remember the £1bn bung to the DUP to secure the supply and confidence agreement with the Tories?!

Was that before or after a global pandemic where we have spunked several hundred billion pounds sorting it out?

Tbh they could always look at the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their jobs or, in some cases I know of, had their pay reduced by up to 30% for almost a year whilst this st has being played out and think, you know what, at least it's something.

[V1nce Fox]

It’s all relative. We may not be able to afford it but the other st the government have shovelled money into has gone unchecked. This is what happens when they act with no real scrutiny.

Edited by V1nce Fox on Friday 5th March 19:10

[bitchstewie]

Quisling said:

Finding it hard to care to be honest

I think MANY would love a guaranteed job with a guaranteed pay rise every year

This is the unfortunate difficulty as I see it.

1% is a kick in the teeth.

But it's less of a kick in the teeth than no pay rise or furlough or redundancy or simply being let go.

I do wonder in a perverse way given it seems we absolutely do have a magic money tree when it suits whether actually offering the 1% almost makes it appear worse in terms of optics than doing nothing.

Tough one.

[LHRFlightman]

I'm sure Govt can chuck some the £350m a week we're saving from Brexit.


Oh wait.

[Cold]

There's dotgov petition set up to demand a 12.5% pay rise which mirrors the RCN's observations back in January.

[dmahon]

WackyWeaver said:

dmahon said:

Are people for real after the massive supposed support for the voluntary annihilation of our own economy?

For anyone who supported lockdowns then complains about a 1% pay rise, how about take a hike!

Nhs didn’t lock down did it?

I do kind of get where you’re coming from as with the same logic we can tell Brexit voters never to ask for a pay rise ever again

Yes, most of the NHS did shut down.

I wonder if you or the OP have supported these repeated lockdowns? Without being personal, how do you square supporting the destruction of our economy all year then wanting higher wages?

Would love to understand the mindset as there will be a lot of wailing from Twitter along similar lines going forward.

[youngsyr]

I think what angers me most about it, is the weasel-ness of it; 1% is the minimum amount that could even be put forward as a "pay rise".

Below 1.0% and people will write it off as negligble.

And the reality that it isn't even a real-terms pay rise - nurses purchasing power will be lower next year than it is now.

At the very least it should be inflation matching, and the Tories could play it out as making an exemption from the pay cuts for their hard work.

I would have preferred a one-off "Covid Recognition Reward" of say £1k (non-taxable) to every frontline healthcare worker (and keep them in the pay freeze) to show them that, you know, we actually appreciate what they've done over the past year.

[BobsPigeon]

Aye it's a bit of a kick in the teeth, I'm not sure why politicians even get involved in Nurses pay, the senior management in the NHS should stand up and be accountable for decisions locally even if the purse strings are held in Whitehall.

I'm politically agnostic but the ability of the Tories to either not fee the mood or just ignore it is particularly disappointing.

[p4cks]

They get a pay rise every year, irrespective of performance, which I think is an absolute disgrace.

[Quisling]

Don't forget the average wage of a nurse is £36K

Which is apparently abject poverty and they are forced to use food banks



Strange as i would consider £36K to be a damn decent wage

[TTmonkey]

Quisling said:

Don't forget the average wage of a nurse is £36K

Which is apparently abject poverty and they are forced to use food banks



Strange as i would consider £36K to be a damn decent wage

Don’t know what you do, but have you considered nursing?

[smashing]

youngsyr said:

I think what angers me most about it, is the weasel-ness of it; 1% is the minimum amount that could even be put forward as a "pay rise".

Below 1.0% and people will write it off as negligble.

And the reality that it isn't even a real-terms pay rise - nurses purchasing power will be lower next year than it is now.

At the very least it should be inflation matching, and the Tories could play it out as making an exemption from the pay cuts for their hard work.

I would have preferred a one-off "Covid Recognition Reward" of say £1k (non-taxable) to every frontline healthcare worker (and keep them in the pay freeze) to show them that, you know, we actually appreciate what they've done over the past year.

Why stop at healthcare workers...they weren't the only ones keeping the wheels turning.

Purchasing power? Hundreds of thousands of people's purchasing power has dropped to 0 or negative and I don't expect pay rises in our company for a long time, cry me a fking river.

They seriously aren't reading the room as someone above pointed out...a pay rise, decent package overall, absolute job security and they want to strike!

[princeperch]

Quisling said:

Don't forget the average wage of a nurse is £36K

Which is apparently abject poverty and they are forced to use food banks



Strange as i would consider £36K to be a damn decent wage

36k in the south East and london is peanuts really.

And that is the problem. How will they attract and retain staff, without recourse to using expensive agency workers, if they are paying that sort of cash?

As an asides , I work in Central government. The salaries for professionals (lawyers accountants etc) are fairly low. And certainly in my department, we are having to use agency staff to take up the slack. That means we have to pay a 9k one off fee to recruit them to an agent, and then they earn between 200-400 a day depending how experienced they are. Then inevitably when they find another higher paying job, they give a month's notice and they are off. And this normally happens just when they've learnt the ropes and are starting to be of use. Churn is high.

Pay st, get people that won't do more than the minimum, won't be loyal, and who will leave for better paid work elsewhere . Its also appalling for morale and industrial relations.

As an asides, I remain because the money is just about enough to keep me there but the flexibility and the pension are unrivalled. Maybe in a few years when I don't need the flex ill go elsewhere. But I have full sympathy for the nurses and NHS staff...

[T6 vanman]

I raised this in the Boris thread

Just checking the NHS pay review document for their last 3 year deal
https://www.nhsemployers.org/-/media/Employers/Doc...
Not the easiest read but in summery from 2017 £22.1k to 2021 £30.6k


& I think worth every penny ... even without Covid - But to request an extra reward due to Covid ??
Should firefighters get an extra pay rise because they have to climb ladders & enter burning buildings
Should the Coastguard get an extra payrise because they go out in stormy seas
Should the Army get an extra payrise because they are going somewhere hostile
Or should NHS staff expect an extra.. extra payrise for working with a health service



With inflation around 1% and the government hugely overspending along with private sector employee's who will fund the NHS pay rise through tav either only receiving 80% pay (furlough) or expecting pay cuts/ no rises

Are the staff being played by the unions???

Edited by T6 vanman on Friday 5th March 19:30

[Drezza]

My ex was a nurse and did 'bank' on top of her base salary which seemed to be a nice earner, I'm not convinced it's all that bad in reality.

[Driver101]

Many people won't have jobs soon enough. The chances of getting a rise this year are zero for most.

Those who've worked above and beyond this year deserve reward through a bonus. There shouldn't be a blanket rise across the NHS as many have done little.

[p4cks]

T6 vanman said:

Should firefighters get an extra pay rise because they have to climb ladders & enter burning buildings

Don't get me started on these. Less than 33% of their work is putting out fires and they've far too much spare time on their hands