Unite union votes to reject NHS pay offer

Members of the Unite union in England - mostly ambulance workers and junior health staff - have rejected the latest NHS pay offer.

The turnout was 55%, with just over half voting against the offer of a 5% wage rise this year and a cash payment for last year.

Planned strikes in England at hospitals and ambulance trusts will go ahead next week.

Results from other unions on the same pay offer are mixed.

Members of the largest NHS union, Unison, have voted to accept the offer. GMB is expected to announce its vote result later today.

Nurses with the Royal College of Nursing have already turned down the offer and they plan more strike action, staring on Sunday at 20:00 BST in England.

Members of the Royal College of Midwives, meanwhile, have accepted the offer.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Unite was clear from the start it was very unlikely this offer would be accepted. It is quite frankly a joke that NHS workers are being forced to fight for a decent pay rise after years of pay freezes and all their sacrifices during the pandemic.

"The government should be delivering generous rewards for that instead of a parade of insults bullying and lies about our industrial action. Unite will be backing our NHS members 100 per cent."

Strikes involving ambulance workers in Yorkshire will happen on Monday, with the south of England and West Midlands following on Tuesday.

Industrial action will also take place in some hospitals in London, Manchester, Lancashire and the West Midlands.