ABOUT 100,000 NHS workers are being balloted for strikes following another “miserable” below-inflation pay offer, Unite announced today.

The health union branded the 4 per cent wage increase for staff in middle pay bands announced by Tory ministers last month a massive pay cut due to soaring prices.

The consumer prices index inflation rate, which hit a 40-year high of 9.4 per cent in July, is forecast to reach a crippling 13.3 per cent by autumn, with annual energy bills predicted to top £3,000.

Unite is consulting its members in both England and Wales after Labour ministers in Cardiff imposed the same increase, saying there is “no further funding available.”

Members should reject the imposed deal and challenge it through industrial action, the union recommends, and is warning of walkouts this winter. 

General secretary Sharon Graham said: “This offer is nothing other than a massive national pay cut for NHS staff.

“After everything they have been through with the Covid pandemic and the service this workforce gives this country day in, day out, this is a kick in the teeth from the government and an insult to staff and patients alike.

“This ballot is a chance for our members to have their say, and, whatever they decide, they will have the full backing of Unite.”

The vote will run until September 11 in England, September 16 in Wales.

Richard Munn, the union’s lead officer for the NHS in Wales, said workers are “totally fed up.

“They’ve given everything to help care for people through this extremely testing time, only to be told it is yet another cut to their pay,” he said. “We understand the constraints on the Welsh government in terms of funding, but more needs to be done to improve the pay of NHS workers.

“An improved pay offer is crucial to acknowledge what our members do and to both recruit and retain staff.”

The Royal College of Nursing is also set to ballot its members in England and Wales over strike action.

The union, which has called for a pay rise of 5 per cent above inflation, confirmed on Monday that the four-week vote will run between September 15 and October 13.