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Unions call for workforce strategy in pay talks

Screen grab from UNISON video
A screenshot from UNISON’s new video “Time to Talk about NHS Pay” featuring head of health Sara Gorton

MiP is negotiating through the NHS Staff Council on proposals to “refresh” of the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay framework in the NHS. The talks aim to simplify the AfC structure – with shorter pay bands, fewer pay points and no overlaps between bands – and to make it fair and affordable in the future.

MiP and the other NHS unions are proposing to restore UK-wide pay bands by matching all pay bands to those in Scotland, and restructuring Bands 1 to 3 to make sure they pay the Living Wage, while maintaining pay differentials. 

The unions have also tabled proposals for a comprehensive workforce strategy to tackle the many workforce challenges facing the NHS, including the increasing use of agency staff, stagnating wage levels, declining morale and motivation, and growing staff shortages.

UNISON and MiP are also stepping up the campaign against the government’s 1% pay cap, which will inevitably result in another year of falling living standards for almost all NHS staff.

There are several ways members can help with the campaign:
  • Facebook, email or write to your MP asking them to help persuade Jeremy Hunt to lift the cap 
  • Share Unison’s new video, “Time to talk about NHS pay”, with colleagues and friends
  • Distribute the campaign postcard, which sets out the case for ending the pay cap, to members and potential recruits in your organisation. 
All the campaign materials, together with help on writing to your MP, are available on the UNISON website: unison.org.uk/our-campaigns. For a summary of the issues involved in the AfC refresh talks, read the staff side evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body for 2017.

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