A 5% pay deal for NHS workers has been signed off between the government and a majority of health unions this afternoon, paving the way for Health Secretary Steve Barclay to implement the offer for “all staff on the Agenda for Change contract“:

“I’m pleased the NHS Staff Council has voted to accept our pay offer, demonstrating that a majority of NHS staff agree this is a fair and reasonable deal. It is now my intention to implement this for all staff on the Agenda for Change contract and where some unions may choose to remain in dispute, we hope their members – many of whom voted to accept this offer – will recognise this as a fair outcome that carries the support of their colleagues and decide it is time to bring industrial action to an end.”

Unison and GMB have agreed to the offer, although the Royal College of Nursing and Unite are still refusing to budge. With a majority of the unions backing it, however, the existing offer could be imposed regardless…