NHS Staff In NI 'Most Likely' To Miss Out On 6.5% Pay Increase

The UUP has issued a warning to NHS staff in Northern Ireland that they are most likely to miss out on a 6.5% pay increase announced in England.

A three-year pay package for NHS staff in England has been agreed in principal with the government.

However, UUP health spokesperson Roy Beggs said staff in NI will not receive the pay increase over the continuing political stalemate at Stormont.

He said: "The UUP has long argued that because health workers here are signed up to the NHS’s wider UK terms and conditions, they should be treated no worse or paid any less than their counterparts in England, Scotland and Wales. Yet that is exactly what has been happening for some time and now, with this latest increase of over 6%, the gap is going to widen even further.

"I'm glad that the UK Government has at last decided to move away from the arbitrary and discriminatory 1% pay cap for health workers, something which they would have been forced to drop last year had it not been for the DUP MPs at Westminster disgracefully voting to support its continuation.

"It is an abhorrent situation however that once again our local NHS staff are now going to be left even further behind.

"Whilst the pay increase in England will see more money coming to Northern Ireland through the Barnett funding system, there are absolutely no guarantees or even suggestions as of yet that the money will be used to pay for a similar pay increase here. A local Minister and Executive could ensure the money was spent on a pay deal so I fear instead it will simply be diverted to the black hole in Northern Ireland's finances."

SDLP MLA Mark Durkan said that any resource made available as a result of a pay deal struck with NHS England must reach front line staff in Northern Ireland.

He said: "It's critical that any incoming resource as a result of this pay uplift is directed toward frontline staff and not used to plug temporary holes in the system.

"Over the course of a number of years now, our frontline health service workers have stretched themselves to the point of exhaustion to meet pressures on the system. We have unfairly expected them to cover the cracks with little reward. That must end."

(CD/MH)