Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said he’s optimistic about reaching a pay deal with health unions as soon as Thursday to avert further strikes by nurses and ambulance workers.
(Bloomberg) — Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said he’s optimistic about reaching a pay deal with health unions as soon as Thursday to avert further strikes by nurses and ambulance workers.
“We have had some very positive discussions, but let’s see where it ends up today,” Hunt told BBC radio on Thursday. “I am hopeful that we will have an agreement.”
Unions representing nurses, ambulance workers, midwives and physiotherapists have been locked in talks with the government for over a week, after ministers agreed to discuss a one-time payment for the current financial year as well as a pay rise for the next one, which starts in April.
Ministers are trying to draw a line under months of damaging strikes in the National Health Service — primarily over pay — which have seen close to 150,000 appointments canceled so far, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Doctors are not involved in the current talks. Junior doctors went on strike over pay for three days this week, piling pressure on a health service already struggling with significant staff shortages and soaring demand over winter.
Hunt has said any pay rises must be carefully managed to avoid adding to inflation, which rose by 10.1% in the 12 months to January. He told BBC radio: “We have to pilot a very careful course to conclude the disputes but not to fuel inflation — that’s the fundamental tightrope that we have to walk.”
Any agreement would be a major boost for Rishi Sunak’s government after months of industrial action across the NHS, schools and railways, ahead of a general election expected next year.
But teachers and doctors have so far refused to join talks. The government has said a call for a 35% pay rise from the British Medical Association, which represents doctors, is unaffordable.
“The government, NHS employers and unions representing the NHS Agenda for Change workforce have been holding constructive and meaningful discussions covering pay and non-pay matters,” the Department of Health and Social Care said in an emailed statement. “These talks are ongoing.”
Hunt told BBC TV that the government is “working really hard to try and solve these issues,” and has “engaged very productively with the NHS unions.” He added: “I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
–With assistance from Eamon Akil Farhat.
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