PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo
Members of the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists (GHP) in England and Scotland, as part of Unite the Union, have voted to accept a 5.5% pay offer for NHS Agenda for Change staff.
The 5.5% pay offer was made in July 2024 to staff in England, in line with a recommendation by the NHS Pay Review Body, while the Scottish government made the offer in August 2024.
Unite the Union announced on 18 September 2024 that “thousands of its members have overwhelmingly voted to accept the NHS Scotland pay offer”.
“Unite’s health membership voted yes by 93% to accept the 5.5% offer, which the union described as ‘best negotiable’ in the current financial circumstances,” it added.
A similar announcement was made on 16 September 2024, when Unite announced that “two-thirds of Unite members working [for the NHS in England] have voted to say that they approve the government’s decision to offer a 5.5% pay increase for 2024/2025″.
“The pay increase needs to signal the start of pay restoration and the proper valuing of NHS staff. Above inflation pay rises are essential in all future pay rounds until pay restoration is achieved,” it said.
“Unite is seeking urgent action on the commitment by the UK government to issue the NHS Staff Council with a funded mandate to begin to resolve outstanding concerns within the Agenda for Change pay structure,” it added.
“This is long overdue and much needed and the union reiterates its position that this work needs to start now.”
A statement from Sharon Graham, secretary general of Unite, said: “The NHS has been run into the ground by successive Conservative governments but proposed reforms cannot be a byword for cuts or downgrades to our members’ pay and conditions.
“The government needs to understand the foundations of this acceptance are fragile and there is still much to be done to restore the NHS workforce’s confidence in politicians.”
Unite has yet to announce the results of a ballot of staff working for the NHS in Wales.
A spokesperson for the GHP said: “The [GHP], as part of Unite the Union, has balloted members in England and Wales (where pay awards are imposed on recommendation of the arm’s length government NHS Pay Review Body) and Scotland (where pay is offered and negotiated directly with trade unions).
“From Guild Council’s perspective, these pay offers/awards were put to members with a neutral stance for their views. We believe that these above-inflation pay rises make inroads into pay restoration and represent a step in the right direction to keep pharmacists in the managed service.
“[The] GHP is still optimistically hopeful and lobbying to see protected development time implemented consistently, time factored in for additional roles, such as being a designated prescriber practitioner, and on-call processes to be fair and equitable.”
