Collective agreement in the British health service NHS

In Great Britain have themselves unions and government agreed on higher wages after weeks of strikes in the National Health Service (NHS). Whether the compromise will be implemented remains to be seen. The employees have the last word and not all unions recommended accepting the agreement on Thursday, which would apply to around one million employees.

The offer includes a one-off payment of 2 percent of each salary for 2022/23 and an increase of a further 5 percent for 2023/24. The more than one million employees had originally asked for significantly more.

In Great Britain, numerous professional groups have been on strike for significantly more money in view of the high inflation. As recently as Wednesday, tens of thousands of public sector employees, including many medical assistants, demonstrated in London for higher wages. Hundreds of thousands walked out across the country.

Heaviest protests since the 1980s

prime minister Rishi Sunak has recently been under intense pressure to pacify the most violent protests since the 1980s. The Conservative government had long refused to negotiate more money for NHS workers, claiming it would only fuel high inflation. Now she spoke of a fair and reasonable solution. Sunak said it is important that the deal is sustainable for the budget and does not jeopardize his plan to halve inflation.

Three of the unions represented at the negotiations recommended that their members accept the offer. However, the employee representative Unite said that although it would suspend the strikes during the member vote, it could not recommend the offer.

Before Christmas, the nurses’ union RCN called on its members to go on strike for the first time in its history. Rescue workers also went on strike. The NHS has been considered underfunded for years. Millions of people are on waiting lists for surgeries.

Labor disputes in various sectors have repeatedly paralyzed the country for months. For example, there is still no solution for all groups of employees and for all companies at the railways.