TORY ministers have instructed the supposedly independent NHS Pay Review Body to cap the wages of frontline health workers to just 2% in 2023-24.
At the end of last year, as nurses and NHS workers took strike action over a miserable wage-cutting offer of 4% for 2021-22, demanding an inflation plus 5% increase, Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak and his health secretary Steve Barclay were spreading throughout the media hints that this year’s pay offer would be big enough to dampen the anger of workers who have seen their real-terms pay slashed by successive Tory governments.
At the same time, the Tories were quick to claim that their hands were tied and that they were only following the recommendations of the last NHS pay review of a 4% pay award at the start of 2022.
In fact, as everyone knows the Tories instruct the NHS Pay Review Body exactly what amount it can recommend, as it is determined by the overall NHS budget set by the government.
According to a report in the Guardian on November 16, Barclay wrote to the Review Body giving them the instructions for the 2023-24 pay offer.
He did not specify the figure of a 2% pay offer but, as the NHS Confederation – the Health Foundation thinktank – and health unions have stated, the fact that NHS England’s budget for this year has already been set means that this is the amount Barclay intends to impose.
Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said: ‘Our dispute is about the NHS pay award for 2022-23, and we are deciding how to engage in discussions about the 2023-24 award. Ministers need to resolve our dispute with them over this year’s award before they move on to next year’s.’
Responding directly to the impending 2% pay offer Cullen added: ‘Inflicting a decade of real-terms pay cut misery on nursing should be more than enough without considering going down that road again.’
Matthew Taylor, NHS Confederation chief executive, joined in urging Barclay not to impose a wage-cutting below-inflation pay award this year.
He warned: ‘If the government wants to avoid the prospect of prolonged industrial action this year, it must be prepared to negotiate on pay and both sides must be willing to compromise.’
In fact, the Tories are not just considering going down the road of inflicting misery and poverty on NHS workers, they are determined to carry through a fight to the finish with nurses, health workers and their unions in the weeks ahead with Sunak preparing new laws to make strikes illegal.
There will be no compromise, as Barclay made clear in his letter to the NHS Pay Review Body.
Barclay wrote: ‘Pay awards must strike a careful balance – recognising the vital importance of public- sector workers while delivering value for the taxpayer, considering private-sector pay levels, not increasing the country’s debt further, and being careful not to drive prices even higher in the future.’
Workers will ignore the sanctimonious drivel about the vital importance of public sector workers – the only vital importance for the Tories is the absolute requirement of the ruling class to make the working class pay for the inflation and capitalist economic recession.
Wages must be held far below inflation to bring down the massive national debt of around £2.4 trillion – a debt run up bailing out the banks and industry from collapse.
There is no room for any compromise with the Tories – this is a fight to the finish between a powerful working class that will never accept being driven into poverty to keep a bankrupt capitalist system from collapse and a Tory government determined to make workers pay for the bosses’ and bankers’ crisis.
Now is the time for the working class to demand the trade union leaders drop all the useless appeals for compromise, and mobilise the full-strength of the working class in a general strike to bring down the Tories and bring in a workers’ government and a socialist planned economy.
Only the WRP and Young Socialists fight on this revolutionary policy and programme – join today.
