HEALTH workers have been offered a pay-cap busting 3 per cent wage increase following a reallocation of Stormont funds.
The Department of Finance (DoF) has redistributed some £265 million of public cash due to a combination of carried forward funding, additional Barnett formula allocations in the Autumn Budget, and changing spending requirements within departments. The department last carried out a monitoring round in January and envisages another one before the end of the financial year.
Stormont's biggest spending departments will receive the lion's share of the funds to address what DoF calls "significant pressures". The Department of Health will receive £109 million, the Department of Education gets £36 million, while the Department for Infrastructure has been allocated £31m for roads maintenance and public transport services and a further £42m for longer term projects.
An extra £60 million has been earmarked for the health workers' pay increase, which would see the minimum rate of pay set at £16,943 – an increase of up to 15.5 per cent for some of the lowest-paid employees – and a rise in starting salaries, including for newly-qualified nurses.
Public-sector pay rises have been capped at 1 per cent for a number of years.
Department of Health Permanent Secretary Richard Pengelly said: "Our health and social care system depends on the dedication and expertise of staff, particularly during these times of unprecedented pressure on services.
"I am delighted to be able to reach this point."
Mr Pengelly thanked health staff and trade union representatives for "their forbearance".
He said the proposals would offer about 70 per cent of staff a 3 per cent or more uplift to current pay scales.
In addition, eligible staff will receive incremental pay progression - increases that move them towards the top of their pay bands.
The department is aiming for the increases to be in pay packets in the new year.
The allocation to the Department of Education will enable it to address planned over-spending, allow schools to access budget surpluses accumulated in prior years and provide further support for special educational needs and school maintenance programmes.
