Chancellor Rishi Sunak may offer health workers a one-off bonus to defuse the row over NHS pay
- Unions angered by a proposed one per cent rise for NHS, threatening strikes
- In response, Ministers said rest of the public sector was having a pay freeze
- Sources claim a one off bonus could avoid a U-turn and diffuse the row over pay
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering defusing the row over NHS pay by offering a one-off bonus for health workers.
Unions were angered by a proposed one per cent rise, threatening strikes and demanding 12 per cent instead.
They said it was a ‘slap in the face’ for nurses.
In response, Ministers said the rest of the public sector was having to accept a pay freeze.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering offering a one-off bonus for health workers amid a row over pay increases
Unions were angered by a proposed one per cent rise, threatening strikes and demanding 12 per cent instead.
Sources claim a bonus could avoid a U-turn.
One said: ‘It is an idea being discussed on the margins.
‘But the fear is that if it is like the £500 dished out in Scotland, they will just bank it and repeat demands for a rise.
‘The likelihood is that negotiations end up in the 2-3 per cent zone.’