NHS Unison members accept pay deal offer in England in record turnout - how much is the offer

After several rounds of strikes and pay negotiations this winter, ambulance crews, somenurses and other NHS health staff who are Unison members have voted in favour of accepting the government’s pay offer in England.

The pay deal includes a permanent 5% pay rise for 2023/24 worth at least £1,065, plus an extra one-off lump sum to top up the past year’s salary. Meanwhile, the union members from the Royal College Nursing in England are expected to announce how they voted later today.

In the Unison consultation of 288,000 NHS workers across England, almost three-quarters (74%) voted to accept the offer, and 26% to reject. Turnout was 53%, with 152,329 votes cast. Of these 112,458 voted yes, and 39,871 no.

Unison, in a statement said, the vote means over 112,000 members working in every part of the NHS voted to accept, put cash in their pockets and give certainty about pay for the next year.

It said: “The vote comes after months of strike action across the country by Unison members, whose courage and determination to repeatedly join picket lines has demonstrated a simple fact – industrial action works.

“Their decisive action forced the ministers to the table and allowed negotiators the opportunity to squeeze extra money out of the government. The resulting offer amounts to a doubling of the cash value of the pay award in 2022, as well as permanently increasing pay by 5% for this year.

“The dispute has sent a stark warning to the government that it must drastically alter its approach to the recruitment and retention crisis. It has also shown that ignoring NHS staff for months on end, refusing to discuss their pay and failing to address their serious concerns about the impact on patient care won’t make the issues go away.”

Unions Unite and GMB are expected to declare their results on April 28.