Nurses pay demands 'unaffordable', says health secretary

Maria Caulfield branded the RNS’s pay demand of 19% "unaffordable" as nurses across the country walked out on Thursday in the biggest strike in the history of the NHS.

Thousands of nurses took to picket lines amid a dispute with the government over pay and patient safety. According to Saffron Cordery, the interim chief executive of NHS Providers, up to 60% of routine operations had to be cancelled in strike areas.

The Royal College of Nursing (RNS) said staff had been given no choice but to strike after ministers refused to reopen pay talks.

“A demand of 19% is not something we can realistically deliver on,” Caulfield told Sky News.

“We could’ve ignored the pay review bodies’ recommendation and gone for a much lower pay rise — we could go higher, but we have got to find that money from somewhere. This isn’t government money, it’s taxpayers’ money.”

She added: “We reckon it’s about 70,000 appointments, procedures, surgeries that will be lost.”

A series of damaging strikes are taking place throughout December in the UK which include rail workers, postal staff, NHS staff, baggage handlers and bus drivers in what is being dubbed the new "winter of discontent" as employees dispute with employers over pay and conditions.

"These are not normal times and non-normal solutions are required"

Martin Tiplady OBE, director of Chameleon People Solutions, told Reward Strategy that employers need to find their own responses rather than await a solution from government that "simply will not arrive".

"This is a political issue but the political solution is never going to happen. If in doubt, just look at the response to current pay disputes."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made clear on Tuesday that the government cannot shift their stance on pay, telling his Cabinet:  “While the government will do all we can to minimise disruption, the only way we can stop it completely is by unions going back around the table and calling off these strikes.”

Tiplady , who was Director of Human Resources at the Met Police for ten years, says employer solutions are "more possible than they may at first appear", but they will need to reexamine their approach and attitude towards staff.

"Whether those solutions mean a rethink about senior remuneration, or interim pay awards, or eating into margins - a different approach to pay is required," he said.

"For those who might think the unthinkable and change their approach, the payback will be loyal staff who respect the compassion shown towards their plight. Those who do not - and do the basic minimum - they will encounter negative feedback and staff who vote with their feet - probably out of the door."

"These are not normal times and non-normal solutions are required as well as a redetermination about priorities."

Read more: Government can’t change their stance on pay, says Rishi Sunak

Tania Bowers, employment lawyer at Foxglove consulting told RS that the ONS data laid bare that although vacancies have dipped across the UK, the demand for health and social work workers raises "significant concern given the current unrest in the workforce".

"The sector reported the greatest spike in vacancies in the three months to November. With nurse strikes beginning amid pay disputes, health and social work is facing a concerning dearth of talent that won’t be rectified by pay increases alone. 

"There needs to be a fundamental re-think around how talent is sourced into the sector as well. The current inflexibility around framework requirements will only continue to limit the available pool of workers, which will exacerbate both the reliance on agency staff to fill immediate gaps and budget restraints."

The RCN has warned strike action by nurses will escalate unless ministers are willing to negotiate on the key issue of pay rises. Another nursing walkout is due to take place on December 20.