Health workers to get recommended pay award, says department

Stormont's Department of Health says it will implement a pay award which was recommended by an independent pay review body earlier this year.

Doctors and dentists will get a 4.5% uplift with other health service staff getting an additional £1,400 a year.

That is a below-inflation increase for most workers and so is unlikely to end industrial action.

Anne Speed, from the union Unison said the uplift would not settle the pay dispute because inflation was at 11%.

"Without protection against inflation pay workers essentially suffer a pay cut," she said.

"We know that Department of Health officials listened carefully during the many times we challenged the breaking of pay parity but they, and we, know now that even with this adjustment our members will continue to feel real financial pressure," she added.

The awards will be backdated to 1 April 2022.

Rita Devlin, Director of the Royal College of Nursing in Northern Ireland said that while it was a "step in the right direction" it was not a "big enough step".

She sad there were nearly 3,000 nursing vacancies in Northern Ireland.

"Until we resolve the difficulties in pay, our health service will remain an unattractive proposition for many nursing staff who are not only leaving the HSC but are leaving the profession altogether," she added.

Patrick Mulholland from the union NIPSA said that while industrial action continues the department's offer "indicates that the message has been heard by the employer".

However, he added: "What is on the table is in real terms a pay cut".

Dr Tom Black from the British Medical Association (BMA) criticised the offer

"They all have an 'O' level in Maths, they know they're still getting a pay cut," he said.

He said members were leaving the health service, crossing the border and registering with the Irish health body.

The news comes on the same day Stormont's Department of Finance issued guidance to other departments which will allow the start of pay talks with trade unions.

Normally, a pay policy is agreed by the Stormont Executive before the start of the financial year.

However, that agreement did not happen this year due to the lack of a functioning executive.

The guidance tells departments that any pay awards must be affordable in the context of the recent Stormont budget.

Any pay remit submitted for consideration must be accompanied by an affordability assurance from the department's senior official.

In a letter to finance directors the Department of Finance said public-sector employers should now "urgently engage with their staff groups and their representative trade unions on the 2022-23 awards so that these can be negotiated, agreed and implemented as soon as possible".

Aside from affordability, the guidance said there should be consideration of legal entitlements and fairness as well as "cognisance of national pay arrangements where appropriate".

In July, an independent pay review body recommended that health staff in Northern Ireland should get a pay increase of £1,400.

The then health minister, Robin Swann, immediately said he would accept its recommendation, which it is understood will cost around £215m.

However, no formal decision could be made because Stormont had neither a budget nor a pay policy due to the lack of an executive.

The Secretary of State has now set a budget and recent legislation passed at Westminster has empowered senior civil servants to issue pay guidance and ultimately make pay awards.

A Departmental of Health spokesperson said: "The department shares the frustration of all our HSC colleagues in the delays in implementing the pay recommendations for 2022-23.

'While the former minister had accepted the recommendations in full, the lack of a public-sector pay policy and budgetary uncertainty prevented any further progress.

"These hurdles have now been cleared for this year and the Department will now move to implement these pay awards as a matter of urgency to ensure colleagues see their pay increase as soon as possible."

Meanwhile the Department of Finance says that a civil service pay award that the former Finance Minister would like to have offered is unaffordable.

In October Conor Murphy told MLAs if an Executive was in place he would have recommended a pay deal worth £1,900 to the most junior grades, £1,400 to middle grades and £1,000 to senior officials.

However, that was predicated on £30m of additional funding being provided to departments but this was not provided for in the secretary of state's recent budget.

A spokesperson said: "The Department will consider what pay offer is possible for Northern Ireland Civil Service staff.

"In line with Public Sector Pay guidance this will have to be within the confines of the affordability of the budget set out by the Secretary of State."