UNISON health members in England are to be consulted on a new pay offer from the government following talks with the Department of Health.
This means that the 12-hour strike scheduled for tomorrow (29 January) has been suspended to allow the consultation to take place - along with the month-long action short of a strike and the 24-hour strike planned for 25 February.
The offer includes a consolidated pay rise for staff on all pay points up to pay point 34, but with a one year increment freeze for staff on pay point 34 and above..
UNISON head of health Christina McAnea, who is also lead negotiator for the joint health unions, praised the commitment of UNISON members, saying: "The two strike days staged by health workers last year have moved the government to negotiate with the unions.
"These new proposals deliver pay rises of between 5.6% and 2.2% for more than 200,000 of the lowest paid workers in the NHS.
"On top of that, we got additional important concessions for ambulance staff.
"While the offer doesn't go far enough to meet our claim," added Ms McAnea, "the changes are not insignificant - it is important that our members get to decide to accept or reject them.
"If they choose to reject them, we will move to further industrial action."
UNISON is preparing detailed briefings on what the offer would mean for members and how they can have their say, which will be available on the health pay web pages over the next few days.
Read The offer from health secretary Jeremy Hunt
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