NHS workers hit hard by pay freeze and inflation says GMB
A combination of increasing demand, shrinking resources and the pay freeze, are putting NHS staff under severe pressure, with the impact of the proposed pension changes and the massive programme of NHS reforms in the Health and Social Care Bill adding even more to the stress felt by staff, the GMB and other health unions have warned.
In their joint evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body, the unions, which represent staff including nurses, midwives, paramedics, therapists, porters, cooks and cleaners, highlight increasing concerns about how they can maintain the quality of patient care.
The unions say that high inflation and the Government¹s pay freeze have resulted in a big drop in the value of NHS pay over the last few years. They add that many NHS staff are suffering financial hardship and the £250 given to the lowest paid has been soaked up by the impact of changes to tax credits, childcare fees and the rising cost of basic essentials such as food and fuel.
Rehana Azam GMB national officer for NHS said "At a time when working people are dealing with their own deficits as the cost of living increases including the essentials like childcare, fuel and food. Wage stagnation and the position directed from Government to Pay Review Bodies is unhelpful and unfair.
“Public sector workers are being attacked on a daily basis by this Government and the propaganda distributed about public sector workers with the attempts to put private sector workers against public sector workers will reveal that this Government's only agenda is to undermine the hard working people of this country by making them pay for a deficit which was not their making. All employers in this country are expected to negotiate, consult and agree changes to employment terms and conditions and the bullying tactics applied by this Government in imposing changes to public sector workers terms and conditions will be challenged and stopped".
Rachael Maskell, head of health, Unite, said:" The Pay Review Body continues to play an important role in providing independent and robust evidence on the remuneration of NHS employees. The NHS workforce are facing unprecedented challenges to their pay, in the midst of mass re-organisation and cuts, in some cases losing 25 per cent in pay as a result. These cuts to services and employment terms are causing morale in the NHS to fall significantly.
“We are hopeful that this year's Pay Review Body will ensure that NHS staff are remunerated fairly to ensure that they stop falling behind other sections of the workforce and economy. Unite further hopes that the Pay Review Body will address the recruitment and retention challenges for pharmacists, and estates and maintenance workers in this year's review."
