Pressure mounts on the government to award pay rise to NHS staff before parliament summer recess

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under pressure to give a long-awaited pay rise for NHS workers before Parliament breaks up for the summer next week.

It is now more than 100 days since the pay rise was due and almost a year since Unison appealed tot the government to staff a £2,000 rise.

Unison said health staff are increasingly worried that ministers will not announce an NHS pay rise before MPs go on their summer break.

The NHS pay review body (PRB) reported to ministers three weeks ago following a recommendation by the Government that no more than 1% could be afforded, which sparked anger among NHS staff.

More than 30,000 health workers have now signed an open letter calling on the Prime Minister to pay.

In May, health workers across Scotland accepted a pay rise from the Scottish Government that is worth at least 4% for most staff.

Unison’s head of health Sara Gorton said: “It’s in Boris Johnson’s gift to grant staff a fair deal. Yet he’s still making them wait.

“It’s 320 days since Unison wrote to Boris Johnson asking for a £2,000 increase for every NHS worker, but health workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland still don’t know what they’ll get."

She continued: “Staff who’ve done so much during the pandemic are being treated as an afterthought while MPs head off on their holidays, and infections are rising which means pressure is piling back on the whole health team once again.

“The least the Government can do is confirm now that staff will get a decent pay rise.”