Members in Wales accept NHS pay offer

The pay offer includes a further one-off lump sum payment for 2022/23, equivalent to three per cent of the NHS pay bill in Wales.

This is in addition to the improved pay offer that was negotiated earlier this year, after the CSP and other health unions announced dates for strike action in Wales.   

For 2023/24 the offer includes a consolidated pay rise of five per cent for most Agenda for Change staff, plus an additional payment to lower band staff to bring them significantly above the Real Living Wage rate.  

91per cent of voters accepted the offer, compared to nine per cent who rejected – on a turnout of 49 per cent. 

In February 2023, CSP members in Wales voted to accept the Welsh Government’s offer of a 3 per cent uplift, 1.5 percentage points of which was consolidated and paid in May’s pay packets, and a 1.5 per cent non-consolidated sum that was paid in March 2023.

This was implemented by the Welsh government following narrow acceptance at a vote of the joint trade unions in Wales. 

Trade unions in Wales then succeeded in negotiating a further uplift to the 2022-23 pay offer and an offer for 2023-24 Pay.

There was a vote of the joint Trade Unions of the Welsh Partnership forum, which collectively accepted the pay award and the Welsh government have announced they will be implementing the new pay offer as soon as is practicable.

This followed talks finally beginning in England, leading to an improved offer for 2022/23 and an offer for 2023/24, giving a vital opportunity for further discussions in Wales.  

For full details of the pay offer that members accepted see the NHS Wales Pay Page.  

Members showed courage and determination

The CSP will now take forward the outcome of our vote to the Welsh Partnership Forum.  

The final outcome will depend on the majority decision of the trade unions and then the response of the Welsh government regarding implementation. This will be known after 23^rd May and members will be kept up to date through the website.  

Adam Morgan, CSP senior negotiating officer for Wales, said: ‘CSP members in Wales have acted decisively and now voted to accept the updated offer with a clear margin. We will take this vote to the Welsh Partnership Forum on 23rd May.

‘We know that our members deserve more, and we will continue to fight for fair pay. While the offer falls short, it will go some way to alleviate against some of the rising living costs.

We have only managed to achieve this improved pay offer due to the courage of our members. Their determination was clear when they voted to take strike action, and the message was effective in bringing the government back into talks

‘We know that NHS recruitment and retention is in urgent crisis, and the only way to overcome this crisis is to keep fighting for pay levels to be restored to pre-2010 levels.’