This agreement applies to members directly employed in the NHS in England and Northern Ireland, with discussions taking place in Wales to align this with the interim offer made by the Welsh government earlier in the year. Members in Scotland have already received an increase agreed with the Scottish government earlier in the year.
Details of all of the offers can be found here.
The PDA Union was one of a majority of unions whose members had voted to accept the offer, joining others including Unison, GMB, The Royal College of Midwives, and The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, all of whose members had also indicated a clear majority in favour of accepting the offer.
It is expected that the pay increase will be back dated to 1 April, and the lump sum will be paid in June.
A majority of members at four unions opposed the offer, and it is not clear whether these unions will still continue with plans to take further industrial action now they are clearly in a minority.
Paul Moloney, PDA Union National Officer, commented, “It has been a lengthy process to reach this agreement, including the first ever strike ballot in our 15-year history as a trade union. Members of all unions can be proud of what has been achieved in forcing government to negotiate and make an offer that recognised the 2022 pay award was too low.
However, we are all acutely aware that this agreement will not solve all of the issues facing our members in the NHS. The fact that we came so close to having our first strike action shows just how angry members felt. While this increase and the lump sums may be welcomed by members, there is no time for complacency and the campaign for fair pay and better working conditions for our members in the NHS will continue in all four countries.”
The immediate focus for the PDA Union will be to ensure that the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Assembly does not prevent members in Northern Ireland from receiving this increase at the same time as their colleagues in other countries.
Members employed directly by the NHS, who are interested in discussing what the PDA does next to progress the NHS pay dispute, are invited to register for an online members meeting on the subject, details of which can be found here.
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