Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:50 pm on 31 January 2023.
The Welsh Government has formally commenced the NHS pay-round process for 2023-24 by sending a remit letter to the NHS pay review body. The Welsh Government's evidence to the pay review body, along with the letter, was sent on the same day, 11 January, that the health unions said that they were no longer prepared to engage with a review body process that they no longer trusted, calling instead for direct negotiations with the Government for next year. Why, effectively, begin a new dispute with the unions over next year's pay even before this year's pay dispute is resolved? How is that going to rebuild the trust of the workforce?