HEALTH workers ranging from nurses and ambulance drivers to hospital porters and cleaners are being urged to accept a “significant” pay offer ranging from 6.5 per cent to 29 per cent over the next three years.

The Government is investing £4.2 billion into the deal for over a million workers in England, signalling the end of the seven-year cap on public sector pay.

The pay of the lowest-paid staff, such as porters and cleaners, will increase by 15 per cent, while nurses are being offered their biggest wage increase in a decade.

Sara Gorton, head of health at the Unison union, said pay restraint had led to a staffing crisis across the country, as well as financial hardship.

Glenn Turp, regional director of the Royal College of Nursing Northern region said: “The offer is a positive step towards addressing the devastating real terms pay cut that our members have been living with since 2010.

“If accepted, this rise will allow nursing staff to reach the top of their pay band sooner and starting salaries will also go up, helping us to retain and attract new talent into the NHS.

“It’s not a magic wand but it commits a significant chunk of Government cash to nurses who feel they have been overlooked and undervalued in recent years.

“We ran a very vocal campaign for pay here in the North-East with members taking part in demonstrations and meetings with MPs and this result is a real credit to all those who took part alongside their regular long working hours.

“Our negotiating team have worked tirelessly alongside the other unions to secure a deal that would allow for better pay without taking away valuable annual leave or unsociable hours payments.”

The deal is expected to be mirrored in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and is set to lead to claims for big pay rises from teachers and other public sector employees.

Midwives and physiotherapists are among those in line for the biggest increase.

Under the deal, hospital caterers, cleaners, porters and other staff on the lowest pay grade would get an immediate pay rise of more than £2,000 this year - an increase of between 11 per cent and 13 per cent.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “NHS staff have never worked harder and this deal is recognition of that - alongside some important modernisation of the way their contracts work.”

Redcar MP Anna Turley said:“This is welcome news for our NHS staff who have worked tirelessly to keep our health service running under massive strain.

“Staff and trade unions have been campaigning for a while to secure a pay boost and I am pleased the government have finally seen sense.

“It’s not perfect but it may go some way towards addressing the staffing shortages as people have understandably been turned off from pursuing a career with so much work for little reward.”

Health unions will now consult with their members over the pay offer, with the results known in June.

If the proposals are accepted, the pay rise should be in people’s July wage packets, backdated to April.

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The Government must now make sure the rest of our hardworking public servants get the pay rise they have earned, and the Government must fund it properly.”