NHS staff made clear to health secretary Matt Hancock what they think of the government’s one per cent pay rise for health workers when he visited Heartlands Hospital says the trade union Unison.
Mr Hancock, who was also in the region to discuss proposals for a new hospital at Arden Cross and to see progress on HS2, was met by a group of workers who demanded to know why ministers are not offering more when he visited Heartlands.
The hospital, has been at the centre of a long-running dispute over changes to the rota patterns for porters, has also seen one of the highest rates of patient admission due to Covid-19 in England.
NHS staff were due a pay rise on April 1 but this will now have to await the outcome of a pay review board report.
Unison has been campaigning for an across the board pay rise of at least £2,000 for all NHS workers.
The union’s regional organiser Chanel Willis said: “The heroic staff at Heartlands are among thousands across the region and beyond going above and beyond for patients throughout the pandemic.
“Health workers, many of them exhausted by the demands of the past year, made it quite clear to the health secretary that they’re offended by such a pitiful offer in recognition for their efforts.
“The government must listen to public opinion and the NHS staff who have given so much by rethinking its offer and giving them the decent pay rise they deserve.”
