‘Unsocial hours payments’ to be kept by NHS

Health
service unions are hailing a "radical breakthrough" for more than a
million NHS workers in Britain after an agreement was reached to retain
unsocial hours payments in an overhaul of pay scales.

The
lowest pay band will also be scrapped as part of the accord reached yesterday.
Health minister John Hutton said he was delighted that an agreement on the
issue had been finalised.

Paul
Marks, Unison lead negotiator on the NHS’s Agenda for Change proposals, said
scrapping unsocial hours payments would have "failed miserably" to
reward staff working weekends and bank holidays.

He
added the new deal would go some way to putting more money into the pockets of
its lowest paid members. The agreement brings the minimum wage for NHS staff to
£11,135.

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It
is planned that the deal would be put to union members in a ballot after
October’s conference.

By Mike Berry