ONE TEAM – 2K – PAY UP NOW

As the biggest trade union in the ambulance sector, UNISON understands the role you play and continue to play in dealing with the pandemic.

Now it’s time for the government to recognise this and turn their applause and warm words for NHS staff into a meaningful and early pay rise.

This is why UNISON led the way and delivered a letter to the Prime Minister urging him to give every NHS employee an increase of at least £2,000 by the end of the year.

£2,000 for everyone is fair and reasonable for the whole NHS team. It is easy to explain to the government and supporting it is the least they can do for NHS staff. It isn’t complicated, and it could be implemented quickly.

And UNISON members agree.

Over 8 out of 10 UNISON members in the NHS said they would support a campaign for a £2,000 pay rise for all NHS staff, saying that increase would make a meaningful difference to their spending power.

We also know UNISON members are in favour of a flat rate pay increase – an across the board increase for all NHS staff. When we asked them, 70 percent of our members favoured of a flat rate approach to pay increases, compared to only 29 per cent who preferred percentage increases.

Some other unions have been clear that they want to see a percentage pay increase – where the more you earn the more you get.

This year, more than any other, the Health Service Group Executive want to see our One Team values reflected in our claim. We took an early position – one we know our members overwhelmingly support – that this meant a flat rate pay claim.

For UNISON members working in the ambulance services a £2000 pay increase would see the basic pay of a:

• Top of Band 2 increase by 10.3% 
• Top of Band 3 increase by 9.5%  
• Top of Band 4 increase by 8.3%  
• Top of Band 5 increase by 6.5%  
• Top of Band 6 increase by 5.3% 
• Top of Band 7 increase by 4.5%

We know we need significant public support for a pay rise – and at the moment we have it.

A majority of the public (69%) think all NHS staff should get an early pay rise, according to a poll commissioned by UNISON. Two thirds (66%) of the public believe a wage increase for employees should be significant in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

An overwhelming majority of the public (85%) believe pay should increase. This includes nearly two in five (39%) who backed a medium increase, and more than a quarter (27%) who backed a large one. Only one in five (19%) thought NHS staff should only get a small rise.

We can’t take public support for granted. Since Covid hit the UK, over 220,000 jobs have been lost, and self employment is also down by 240,000 – that affects nearly half a million workers in total.

Now that we launched our pay claim we’ll be in touch with members more often on how to get involved with the campaign. This will begin with “Two days for 2k” where UNISON will be organising campaign activities between September 16 – 18 in your employer so please look out for these and get involved.

For us to be successful, we will need public support, political pressure, and most importantly of all we need you to be involved.

UNISON is up for the challenge. We are the largest trade union in the NHS and we know what we’re asking for is fair and reasonable. That means we’ll keep the public on our side. If we work together in workplaces across the UK, we can get the government to deliver on NHS pay