The government has imposed a 3% pay rise for all NHS staff in England. UNISON is running an indicative ballot to find out whether members want to take action.
- UNISON’s reaction to 3%
- How will the indicative ballot work?
- What can activists do now?
UNISON’s reaction to 3%
UNISON’s health service group executive (HSGE) has said that the government’s 3% pay award:
- does not increase pay by £2,000 for anyone other than staff in band 8c and above
- stretches the gap between the highest and lowest paid in the NHS
- does not embed the real Living Wage as the minimum.
In our summer consultation of over 300,000 NHS staff in England, 80% of those who voted were clear that they wanted to challenge the decision and take industrial action, but a large proportion of members did not vote – and that means we do not know what they think and what they are willing to do.
So we are now running an indicative industrial action ballot to ask whether members are willing to take action. If a minimum of 45% of all members take part – and the majority say they want to take action – that will give us confidence that we can move on to a formal ballot.
How will the indicative ballot work?
The indicative ballot will run from 3/4 November to 5 December 2021, and members will be emailed a secure personal link to vote online.
We’ve produced a full set of FAQs for members that explain how the indicative ballot will work, why they’re being asked to vote, and what the pay award means for them.
Finally, it has never been more important for members’ contact details to be up to date. The most important information we need right now is their employer, email address, and mobile number. Please encourage members to update their details at MyUNISON.
