NHS workers have lost at least a year’s worth of salary since 2010 as a result of their pay not keeping pace with inflation, research by the TUC suggests.
The analysis found the cumulative impact of a decade of real-terms pay cuts and freezes in public sector pay meant that midwives, nurses and physiotherapists have all lost more than a year’s pay. Maternity and care assistants have suffered a real-terms pay loss of £30,000 since 2010 while nurses and physiotherapists have suffered a cumulative real-terms pay loss of £37,000. Midwives have lost £48,000 since 2010 – the equivalent of 14 months’ salary.
The workers are all currently involved in disputes over pay that have led to a series of strikes. And the TUC warned of a recruitment and retention crisis across the NHS and other key services because of pay. It estimates public sector workers are earning £200 a month less in real terms than in 2010.
NHS physiotherapist Davina Lambie, a member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), said: “Every day I have colleagues crying on my shoulder. The people who do this job are lucky if they have a break to go to the toilet and on a daily basis are unable to give the care that they want to.
“We cannot do this job unless there is some kind of reward that meets the demands that we are enduring every day, and it’s really difficult to look after more and more patients every day in worse conditions. It’s just not sustainable.”
The TUC repeated its calls for the Prime Minister and Chancellor to open up genuine negotiations on pay for this year, warning that industrial unrest will continue until the Treasury “frees” ministers to make decent offers. General secretary Paul Nowak said: “The Conservatives’ decision to hold down public sector pay has made key workers tens of thousands of pounds poorer, and it has fuelled the recruitment and retention crisis blighting our public services.
“Nurses, physiotherapists, midwives and many other frontline staff have lost more than a year’s worth of salary since the Tories took office. Things can’t carry on like this. After a decade of pay suppression, public servants simply cannot afford another real-terms wage hit. Their living standards have been decimated.
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“Instead of ignoring the problem they created, the Government must kickstart genuine pay negotiations with unions. Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt hold the keys to unlocking the current disputes, but so far they have acted as a roadblock to finding fair settlements.”
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “These figures show precisely what’s behind the wave of industrial action in the health service this winter. Ministers clearly don’t value health workers as much as they should.
"It’s no wonder the NHS is struggling to attract and keep staff when employees are finding it so much harder to cover their bills. The link between pay and staffing is obvious to everyone but the Government.
“Without proper investment in the NHS workforce, people will continue to leave for better paid, less stressful jobs and services to patients won’t improve. It’s time the Chancellor came out of hiding and found the money to pay staff properly.”
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We hugely value the work of all NHS staff and have given more than one million workers, including nurses, midwives and physiotherapists, a pay rise of at least £1,400 this financial year – on top of a 3% increase the previous year when wider public sector pay was frozen.
“The Health and Social Care Secretary has met with unions to discuss pay, conditions and workload. He wants to continue discussing how we can make the NHS a better place to work for all.”
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