NHS Unite members in Wales reject pay award and signal appetite for strikes

NHS members of the union Unite in Wales have rejected a 3.6% pay award for 2025/26 and have indicated they are prepared to take strike action, it has been announced.

Unite said NHS staff were ‘furious’ with their pay and conditions and urged the Welsh Government to provide an improved offer ‘before it’s too late’.

In a consultation organised by the union, some 87% of respondents rejected the pay award and said they would be prepared to take industrial action ‘to try to achieve a better and fairer pay increase’.

Unite has not provided details on the response rate or the results of its ballot of members in England.

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The governments in England and Wales announced in April they had accepted the NHS pay review body’s recommendation and that staff will receive a 3.6% pay uplift in August (backdated to April).

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘The government in Wales needs to address critical problems now.

‘And the biggest is the pay and conditions of frontline workers without whom the NHS cannot survive.’

She added: ‘Workers cannot wait any longer for decent pay and better conditions.

‘Any further exodus from the workplace will simply see the NHS in Wales fail to function. The Senedd needs to come back with an improved pay offer before it’s too late.’

Unite, which has a particularly high ambulance services staff membership, warned that unless the Welsh Government opens up pay negotiations with unions, it will have ‘no choice’ but to start the formal industrial action ballot process.

Unite lead health officer for Wales Paul Seppman said: ‘Our sincere desire is to negotiate a better and much deserved pay increase for our members and NHS staff but our members are prepared to take action if there is no improved award.

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‘Morale in the NHS in Wales is at rock bottom. For over a decade staff have seen real terms cuts to their salaries and simply cannot take any more. The Welsh government must act now to rectify this situation.’

Separately, the RCN is currently consulting its NHS members in Wales, England and Northern Ireland on the 3.6% award.

When it was launched last month, the RCN said the vote would be ‘crucial’ in determining its next steps, ‘which could include a ballot for strike action’.

The pay situation is more complex for general practice nursing staff – leading to the RCN criticising ministers for a lack of ‘clear message’ on what they will receive for 2025/26.

The Welsh Government said: ‘We recognise the strength of feeling of union members over pay and we have worked hard to address that in a very challenging financial context for Wales.

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‘We have accepted in full the recommendations made by the independent NHS Pay Review Body and will ensure staff receive both the pay award and back pay as quickly as possible.

‘We continue to work in social partnership with all NHS Wales unions to address our shared ambition of pay restoration in the longer term.’