31 October 2008
By Tash Shifrin
In renewed unrest over public sector pay, NHS unions have called for their three-year deal to be 'reopened', while teachers are waiting to find out whether they will join civil servants on strike.
A joint union submission to the NHS Pay Review Body on October 27 argued that 'reopener' clauses in the three-year pay deal signed this year must be activated amid rising inflation and concerns over staff shortages.
The deal sets out rises of 2.75% for the first year, 2.54% for the second and 2.5% for the third – well below the 5.2% consumer price index, the government's preferred inflation measure.
The submission warned of looming staff shortages, with more than 25% of nursing students dropping out of their courses. It said: 'The rise in inflation and the impact on the cost of living, in particular food and fuel bills, as well as the cost of childcare, have meant that many students cannot afford to continue their training.
'With an already ageing population in the NHS workforce, this demographic time bomb needs to be averted by making working in the NHS not only attractive but financially viable.'
Unison head of health Karen Jennings, chair of the NHS staff side, said: 'Hard-working staff across the NHS accepted a three-year pay deal six months ago believing government and economic predictions that inflation had peaked and would start to fall.
'This clearly hasn't happened. No one then could have predicted the worldwide credit crunch or that inflation would hit a 16-year high.' Trade union Unite, whose 100,000 NHS members rejected the three-year deal, began a strike ballot this week.
Meanwhile, 250,000 members of the National Union of Teachers are expecting the result of their own ballot for national strike action, which is due to close on November 3. If the vote is in favour, the teachers are expected to take part in co-ordinated action with 270,000 civil servants, members of the Public and Commercial Services union.
The PCS executive committee has announced a national strike across the civil service on November 10 – hitting jobcentres, tax offices and passport applications. It will be followed by an overtime ban.
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