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Agenda for Change workers have been told the pay offer on the table at the end of 2022 is the "final" and "best" offer they will be getting.
Despite unions calling on the industrial disputes officer to intervene, Deputy Dave Mahoney says the offer - outlined in a letter to all employees in December - is the only one on the table.
The proposed pay structures for health care workers including nurses and others can be seen in full HERE.
If accepted it would have seen the highest paid band 8D employees earning above £123,000 last year and up to £131,000 this year.
At the other end of the scale the existing offer would mean the lowest paid members of staff in band 2 would all be earning above £20,000 by now.
As a further example, nurses in the most senior roles within band 6 would be earning over £56,000 by now if they had agreed the offer previously.
Pictured: The example above is a Band 5 Agenda for Change Employee who was appointed in 2021.
Deputy Mahoney - who sits on Policy and Resources and is the lead on pay relations with all States employees - wrote to AfC employees late last year to encourage them to accept the offer on the table.
The letter - which was sent on December 16 - started with an explanation of the situation for those employees who are not represented by any of the unions but who are unable to agree their pay rises without the unions backing them.
He has since told Express that: "We have written to all members of staff employed on ‘Agenda for Change’ terms and conditions – essentially nurses, midwives and allied health professionals- conscious that not all employees will be members of a union, and as a direct result of requests from non-union employees to do so. As the employer, it’s important we communicate with all employees to provide them with full, clear and accurate information on what pay offer has been made and what that would mean for them."
Pictured: Deputy Dave Mahoney and Agenda for Change employees, which includes nurses, midwives and allied health professionals, remain at loggerheads over pay.
He shared with all recipients of the letter a copy of the current pay scales across the pay group showing the scales for 2022/23 under the proposed award. That can be seen HERE. He also sent them the example of a band 5 employee, pictured above.
Deputy Mahoney confirmed the matter is now in the hands of the industrial disputes officer as he and the unions have been unable to come to an agreement.
He claims he was invited to the most recent Annual General Meeting held by the local branch of the Royal College of Nursing, which he accepted - but the invitation was subsequently withdrawn so he could not attend.
He said that leaves them in the current situation which is that "the Agenda for Change unions have now lodged a formal dispute with the Industrial Disputes Officer".
Pictured: Steven Naftel was appointed Industrial Dispute Officer and Kathryn Brown his deputy late last year.
Deputy Mahoney has further clarified with Express that the 7% uplift offered for January 2023 remains on the table and that it is the "final and best offer we are able to make".
He said: "With regard to the current situation with the pay negotiations, we have been very clear with all unions from the outset, that it is the final and best offer we are able to make and that we believe it is a very good 3 year offer, balancing several factors including the significant above inflation awards made to employees in this group in recent years, the need to restrain expenditure with public finances under pressure, and providing a fair award to employees that reflects the increased cost of living. While RCN members have not accepted the offer, it is worth noting that members of another union which also represents some of the employees in this group have accepted it."
The matter now rests with the IDO.
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