Labour branded ‘economically reckless’ after pledging £3billion to NHS unions to give to staff massive 3 per cent pay rise
Party unable to say where the cash would come from – as NHS faces huge funding black hole
LABOUR was branded economically reckless last night after demanding an estimated £3 BILLION new investment in NHS staff – controlled by the trade unions.
Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth called for a return to “collective bargaining” in the public sector as he vowed a Labour Government would scrap a 1 per cent pay cap in the NHS.
Aides said there were grounds for a 3 per cent pay rise in April 2018 – a hike that would delight hard-working nurses and GPs but cost the country around £1.5 billion.
And Labour last night also pledged a new law to guarantee “safe” staffing levels. The pledge could trigger the recruitment of an extra 40,000 nurses, mid-wives and doctors at home and from overseas.
Sources claimed such a hiring spree would cost at least another £1.5 billion at a time the NHS is facing a huge funding blackhole.
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Last night Labour was unable to say where the cash would come from – apart from a promise to get tough on corporation tax.
It came as official figures revealed Government borrowing had fallen to its lowest levels since the financial crisis.
Mr Ashworth will unveil his plans today at the Unison trade union conference in Liverpool. He last night insisted: “Our NHS staff are the very pride of Britain.
“Yet they are ignored, insulted, undervalued, overworked and underpaid by this Tory Government. Not anymore. Enough is enough.”
But Tory backbencher Philip Dunne said: “A strong NHS needs a strong economy. We’ve protected and increased the NHS budget and got thousands more staff in hospitals.
“But all that’s at risk with Jeremy Corbyn’s nonsensical economic policies that would mean less money for the NHS.”
Nurses and GPs have suffered from a cast iron grip on public sector pay ever since David Cameron and George Osborne entered power in 2010 – and launched a desperate bid to slash Britain’s debts.
In March, furious union chiefs slammed the Government’s “derisory” 1 per cent pay rise for 2017-2018 – and hinted the wage rise should be closer to 3.2 per cent.
It claimed the cap has cut £4.3 billion from NHS staff salaries between 2010 and 2016.
But Government sources yesterday claimed it had made a conscious decision to restrain pay and instead bring in more staff.
They claimed 12,000 more nurses and 10,000 more GPs hired since the start of the decade.
One insider said: “We believed bringing more staff should be a priority.”
And official figures yesterday revealed “austerity” seemed to be working as Government borrowing fell by £20 billion to £52 billion in 2016-2017 – the lowest amount since 2007-2008.
Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Markit said: “This is helpful for the Chancellor’s and the Government’s credibility which is all the more welcome given the looming snap general election.”