Unions representing nurses, midwives and ambulance staff have suspended strike action after receiving a pay offer from the Welsh Government. Strikes had been due to go ahead on Monday, February 6.
But the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the GMB and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) have called it off to allow further negotiations to take place with the Welsh Government. The offer is a 1.5% pay increase that will go into workers wages and be repeated next year and a one-off payment of 1% of a worker's salary.
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The second striking ambulance union Unite says it remains in negotiations but that its strikes are currently going ahead as planned on Monday. See more about Monday's strikes here.
RCN Wales Director, Helen Whyley, said: “Our strike action in December has clearly been effective as the Welsh Government has listened to the issues facing nursing in Wales and put forward an increased offer for nurses pay back dated to April 2022 and thus avoided the strikes planned for next week.
“Industrial action continues to be a last resort for nurses, and I have heard their stories of the personal sacrifice they make every day fighting for safe care for their patients that pushed them to vote for strike action. The pressure put on the Welsh government by our members has been key to these negotiations moving forward.
"Our elected members have agreed that strike action next week should be cancelled and that we should put forward this offer to our members in Wales for them to decide whether it truly respects and values the nursing profession. The Health Minister should be under no illusion that we will not hesitate to return to strike action should the offer be rejected.”
Confirming the suspension of the strike, the GMB union's Welsh NHS lead Nathan Holman said: "After intense negotiations, GMB has agreed to suspend strike action while further talks take place. We recognise that the Welsh Government and Welsh Ambulance have made concessions and, through social partnership, we appreciate the frank and open dialogue with them over the last few months.
"This has only been made possible because the Welsh Government has been prepared to talk about pay – a lesson for those in charge on the other side of the Severn Bridge."
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The RCM confirmed planned strikes by midwives next week had been paused to consult its midwife and maternity support worker members on the new offer. It will also be suspending action short of a strike planned for February 7-14.
Julie Richards, RCM Director for Wales, said: “This has come about because of the determination of our members to make their voices heard and their readiness to take action. It brought the Welsh Government to the table and led to this offer.
“It is important that our members now have their say and the decision to accept or reject this offer lies with them. We are pausing this action in good faith so that other issues - such as pressures on staff and working conditions – can also be addressed. Make no mistake though, we still have a very strong mandate for industrial action and will not hesitate to take it if our members reject the offer, or if planned talks do not move forward as promised.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Following continued discussions over the last week, we are pleased to announce that an enhanced pay offer has been made to our health trade unions. On this basis, we are hopeful that the planned industrial action over Monday 6th and Tuesday 7th February will be postponed, allowing trade unions to discuss the proposals further with their members. Individual trade unions will confirm their intentions regarding next week’s action, prior to further talks with their members.
“This revised pay offer comprises an additional 3%, of which 1.5% is consolidated so will be in pay packets year-on-year, on top of the Pay Review Body recommendations, which have already been implemented in full. This offer will be backdated to April 2022. Included in this revised package are a number of non-pay commitments to enhance staff well-being, on which negotiations will continue next week.
“Whilst there is currently no improved pay offer on the table for NHS staff in England, it was also agreed that any resulting Barnett consequential following any improved offer to staff in England would result in a further pay offer to staff in Wales.
“We would like to thank those that have participated in the negotiations for their positive engagement and goodwill. We are awaiting a formal response from each of the individual trade unions.”
Unite said its strike action was still set to go ahead on Monday as talks continued between the union and Welsh Government. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "It would be wholly premature for Unite to talk about any deals being done in relation to the Welsh Ambulance dispute. As far as Unite is concerned negotiations are continuing. Unite will be available all weekend in the hope that a satisfactory offer can be put together to avert strikes next week.
“However, we are not in that place now. So, at the moment Unite’s ambulance workers will be on strike on Monday."
Another union representing health staff, Unison, said it will be considering the new offer from the Welsh Government.
A spokesperson said: "Unison was not due to strike in Wales on Monday. We don’t currently have a strike mandate. The ballot of UNISON members is still ongoing until midway through this month. The union will be considering the offer, now that it has finally been announced, and we’ll be issuing a comment about that as son as possible."
In Wales, strike action was announced after the Welsh Government said that most NHS staff would be receiving just a £1,400 pay increase - equivalent to a 7.5% increase for lower-paid staff in Bands 1 to 4 and a 4% increase in Bands 6 - 7. Many employees saw this as an 'effective pay cut', when compared to the current inflation rate of around 10.6%, and did not feel this was a fair reward for their important work.
Explaining why the GMB had called a strike in response to the pay offer, national secretary at the GMB Union, Rachel Harrison said previously: "Ambulance workers, like other NHS workers, are on their knees. Demoralised and downtrodden, they've faced 12 years of Conservative [UK Government] cuts to the service and their pay packets, fought on the front line of a global pandemic, and now face the worst cost of living crisis in a generation."
The move to suspend strikes comes a month after the Union announced thousands of its members would walk-out on February 6 and 20 and March 6 and 20, and after thousands of paramedics, ambulance technicians and other emergency services personnel walked out in organised strikes across England and Wales in December.
At the time, ambulance staff pledged to continue to respond to life-threatening incidents but not to routine or standard emergency calls. It's hoped that an agreement between the GMB Union and Welsh Government will be attained soon, so that future strike days will also be called-off.
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