AROUND 350,000 NHS employees, including tens of thousands in the South East of England, are being asked to vote for strike action over pay.

UNISON has said the most pressing issue for the new prime minister and health secretary is finding a solution for problems affecting the NHS.

The UK’s largest public service union is pushing for a second wage increase that better protects staff against inflation, and helps the NHS retain its workforce. According to UNISON, many NHS workers are leaving for more lucrative, less challenging jobs elsewhere.

The ballot for strike action is open from October 27 to November 25, with thousands of NHS employees from the South East expected to take part. Hundreds of thousands of ballot papers were posted, with the union encouraging health workers to return them promptly.

READ MORE: Ambulance members vote on industrial action

UNISON general secretary, Christina McAnea, said: “Striking is the last thing dedicated health workers want to do. But with services in such a dire state, and staff struggling to deliver for patients with fewer colleagues than ever, many feel like the end of the road has been reached.

“The NHS is losing experienced staff at alarming rates. Health workers are leaving for work that pays better and doesn’t take such a toll on them and their families. If this continues, the health service will never conquer the backlog and treat the millions desperately awaiting care.

“It feels like the NHS is in the last chance saloon. But a vote for industrial action might be the jolt that convinces ministers to make the NHS the priority they say it is.

“Strikes across the NHS this winter are not inevitable. The government must start to tackle the growing workforce crisis with an inflation-busting pay rise and get the NHS back on the long road to recovery.”

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In July, the government announced that most NHS staff on Agenda for Change contracts (NHS terms and conditions) in England would get a pay rise of £1,400, in line with the recommendation of the NHS pay review body. This amounted to a 4.75 per cent increase to the NHS pay bill. Health workers had been due a wage rise on April 1, 2022.

For more go to nhspay.org/.