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Unions vote to accept NHS pay deal

06/06/2008

Two major unions have voted to accept the pay deal offered to healthcare workers today.

A three-year offer has been proposed that is worth eight per cent over three years.

While it has been rejected by members of smaller health unions, results released today from a poll by the larger union Unison saw 64.91 per cent in favour of accepting the deal.

And 92.7 per cent of members who took part in the Royal College of Nursing's (RCN) pay consultation voted in favour of the offer.

This means that the pay deal now has the backing of the two largest NHS trade unions.

RCN general secretary Dr Peter Carter described the offer as "fair, balanced and… the best deal in the public sector".

"We have secured a commitment to re-open pay talks should inflation continue to rise or if there are significant changes to the labour market – a clause which is very important to our members," he added.

"This deal remains the best deal in the public sector and members taking part in our consultation agreed with us. We can now move forward to get this year's pay award into members' pockets as soon as possible."

Karen Jennings, Unison head of health, commented: "Unison gave all our health members the opportunity to make their vote count and the ballot result shows what a tough decision it has been.

"The 2.75 per cent on offer this year is the best in the public sector and the three-year deal offers stability.

"However, the rising costs of everyday items such as food, fuel and energy obviously make members wary about being locked into a three-year deal. That is why we negotiated a re-opener clause that we will not hesitate to trigger if inflation continues to rise."

Ms Jennings said Unison will now meet with the smaller health unions who rejected the deal to discuss a way forward.