GMB members vote to accept pay offer to health workers
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Members of the GMB have accepted the Government’s pay offer to health workers, the union announced.
Tens of thousands of the union’s health workers were balloted on the offer of a 5% pay rise this year and a cash payment for last year.
A total of 56% voted to accept and 44% to reject on a turnout of 51%.
Earlier, Unite announced that its members in the NHS had voted to reject the offer.
The GMB said it will now vote to accept the offer at a meeting of the NHS Staff Council next week which would pave the way for the pay rise to be implemented by the Government to all health workers covered by the agreement.
GMB national officer Rachel Harrison said: “This new pay offer would not have happened without the strike action taken by ambulance and other GMB health workers.
“GMB members have voted to accept the offer, which means GMB union will vote in favour of the pay offer at the NHS joint staff council meeting next week.
“Our members recognise that progress has been made – from the Government originally offering nothing, health workers will be thousands of pounds better off.
“It also meets a key GMB demand of a huge pay uplift for the lowest paid, lifting them above the Real Living Wage.
“But so much more needs to be done for workers if we are all to get the NHS we need.
“GMB now needs action for our ambulance members – starting by addressing their retirement and unsocial hours enhancement concerns.
“Today is just one step in the battle to restore NHS workers’ decade of lost earnings.
“GMB will continue this fight, so that the NHS and ambulance workers, who serve and care for the public, finally get the fair deal they deserve.”
Members of other unions, including Unison, have also accepted the offer, while members of the Royal College of Nursing rejected it and will strike this weekend.
