Nurses and other NHS workers have voted to accept a multi-year pay offer worth more than 8%.
A postal ballot of 452,000 Unison members working in the NHS saw 64.91% of those taking part vote to accept the three-year offer worth 8.1%.
An overwhelming majority of Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members also voted to accept the pay deal, which will establish a new NHS minimum wage of £6.77 in the second year.
Unison’s head of health Karen Jennings said: “The 2.75% on offer this year is the best in the public sector, and the three-year deal offers stability. However, the rising costs of everyday items such as food, fuel and energy obviously make members wary about being locked into a three-year deal.
“That is why we negotiated a reopener clause that we will not hesitate to trigger if inflation continues to rise.”
A number of small health unions have voted against accepting the offer. Jennings said she would make it a priority to meet with them and discuss a way forward.
Gill Bellord, director of pay, pensions and employment relations at NHS Employers, said: “We believe this deal will provide stability that will benefit the NHS, its staff and patients, and it is encouraging that RCN and Unison members, as well as the Society of Radiographers, have endorsed the agreement.”
