NHS pharmacy staff awarded 2.5 pc pay increase
Pay award declared a victory but concerns raised |
Pharmacy staff working for the NHS will receive a 2.5 per cent pay rise from 1 April, Secretary of State for Health Patricia Hewitt announced last week.
Amicus, the trade union that represents hospital pharmacists, said that
the pay award was a victory for the independence of the Review Body for
Nursing and Other Health Professions. “We recognise that the review
body was under considerable political pressure from the Chancellor and
the Health Secretary to limit any award to 2 per cent and we are pleased
that they resisted that unacceptable pressure.”
However, special pay increases of up to 15 per cent, which the Guild
of Hospital Pharmacists requested to improve recruitment and retention,
were not awarded.
In its submission to the pay review body last year, Amicus called for
national recruitment
and retention premiums (RRPs) for pharmacists targeted
at bands 6 and 7 (PJ, 10 December 2005, p711). However, the pay review
body’s report to the Government states that it is too early to
consider the introduction or extension of RRPs because the
effects of Agenda for Change cannot yet be fully assessed.
In response to evidence from Amicus that the data required to formulate
a claim for RRPs are lacking, the review body has asked its secretariat
to discuss with relevant parties how the data needs may be simplified.
David Miller, chairman of terms and conditions at the Guild of Healthcare
Pharmacists, commented: “With the delays that have occurred in
the implementation of Agenda for Change it is not surprising that the
pay review body has recommended a ‘holding position’ with
a 2.5 per cent uplift for a single year in line with the Retail Price
Index. There is some concern that this is below the current average increase
in earnings and there is danger that the progress achieved under AfC
could be lost if increases continue to be below the market level in the
long term.”
The pay increase applies to pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy
assistants working for the NHS across the UK. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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