The United Kingdom Government is facing opposition, including from some of its own members, over a plan to offer just a one per cent pay rise to National Health Service (NHS) staff in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, a public opinion poll has found that 72 per cent of voters believed the offer was too low.
There was also a majority in favour of a bigger increase among supporters of the ruling Conservative Party.
The Opposition Labour Party said the offer would, in effect, cut the pay of some nurses by hundreds of pounds.
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Anneliese Dodds said newly qualified nurses would face a real-time pay cut of £307 ($A556) over the next two years, when linked to changes in income tax rules and rising inflation.
Ms Dodds said Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak had “turned his back on our NHS heroes before the crisis is even over”.
Union anger has been growing, with Unison calling for the public to parody the ‘clap for carers’ support last year by joining a slow handclap to protest against the one per cent figure.
A Government spokesperson said that while pay rises in the rest of the public sector would be paused this year due to the challenging economic environment, “we will continue to provide pay rises for NHS workers”.
London, 8 March, 2021
