Health unions have criticised the 3.3% pay rise imposed on 1.4 million NHS staff in England as “an insult”, with one union threatening strike action. The increase for 2026-27 was announced by Health Secretary Wes Streeting in a written statement to MPs.
The award is lower than the current inflation rate of 3.4% recorded last month, though it exceeds the 2.2% inflation forecast for the next financial year. Unions argue that the rise does not compensate for the real-terms decline in salaries caused by years of below-inflation awards.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) both condemned the settlement. Professor Nicola Ranger, RCN general secretary, said the government was forcing a “very real pay cut” on NHS workers unless inflation falls. Gill Walton, RCM general secretary, described the award as a “real-terms pay cut” and an insult to midwives who work unpaid hours to keep maternity services running.
Unite was the only union to explicitly threaten industrial action. Its general secretary, Sharon Graham, called the rise “an act of political cowardice and financial betrayal”. Richard Munn, Unite’s national officer for health, said members would be left with little option other than industrial action unless forthcoming talks address their grievances. The RCN said it would wait to see pay awards for other NHS and public sector workers before deciding on any action.
Streeting defended the rise, noting it was higher than the 2.5% increase the government had previously indicated was affordable for 2025-26. He added that savings by NHS trusts and integrated care boards had freed up money to fund the award within the existing NHS settlement.
