Prime minister told tackling target difficult if more NHS strikes ahead
Leaders of the RMT rail union are considering an “updated” offer from train companies aimed at resolving the long-running dispute over jobs, pay and conditions, PA Media reports. PA says:
The move by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) follows weeks of talks in a bid to break the deadlock.
The RMT has held a series of strikes stretching back to last summer which caused travel disruption for passengers across the country.
If RCN reject and other union vote to accept the deal, will the deal be imposed on nurses as majority voted for?
Playbook tried to answer the question of what happens if one big union, such as the RCN, rejects the pay deal while others accept it. There were differences of opinion among union officials we spoke to, but a meeting on May 2 is key.
Showdown: The NHS Staff Council — including all six unions with strike mandates — is due to meet two days before the local elections to decide on the pay offer. A senior official with knowledge of the process tells Playbook each member of the council gets a weighted vote corresponding to the size of their membership. After weighting, an official says the deal would only need a simple majority to pass — meaning it could in theory be introduced even if not everyone is in favor.
The problem for union leaders was the Treasury’s insistence that pay rises of more than 5 per cent would fuel inflation. This meant that more of the offer had to come in the form of a one-off bonus, which many staff see as “insulting”. That is likely to have contributed to a no vote.
What happens now is uncertain, particularly if some unions reject it while others accept. Ministers could drop the bonus and revert to their original plans for a 3.5 per cent rise, or ask the pay review body to make a recommendation, although that is likely to be similar or even higher than the 5 per cent on the table.
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