The PDA and other NHS Staff Side unions are telling government that they must improve on the inadequate 3.3% pay rise for NHS staff by putting significant extra funding into long-delayed pay restructure talks or the workforce crisis will continue to grow.
In a joint letter to health secretary Wes Streeting, the unions warn the pay award fails to keep pace with the cost of living, won’t repair years of lost pay and doesn’t address the lower pay rises for those on Agenda for Change contracts than other groups in recent years.
Pharmacists and other NHS employees are also being encouraged to add their name to an open letter submitted by the 14 trade unions which collectively represent more than a million health workers on Agenda for Change contracts. The full text of that letter can be read here.
The unions say that NHS staff are angry and feel deeply let down after years of falling wages and relentless pressure and point out that by relying on the discredited Pay Review Body (PRB) process rather than negotiating directly with unions, ministers have wasted an opportunity to tackle headline pay awards and much-needed reform of the pay structure at the same time through comprehensive talks.
The 2026/27 headline rise will be imposed on April 1, with negotiations to follow on structural fixes, which would mean additional rises for some staff if a deal is reached. But those talks were promised more than 18 months ago and the ongoing delay has wrecked trust.
The letter says: “Day in, day out staff are battling understaffing, overwork and the constant worry that – despite their best efforts – patients are not getting the care they deserve.
“To rebuild confidence, negotiations must now move quickly and show clearly how they will improve on what staff have already been offered.”
Despite the anger over pay, staff say they remain committed to the future of the health service.
“No one wants the NHS to succeed more than the staff who keep it running. But that requires a workforce that is properly valued and properly paid.”
Director of the PDA union, Paul Day added: “NHS employed pharmacists now have the PDA as part of the NHS staff side unions, focussed on advocating for the interests of the profession and we are committed to collective efforts with our union colleagues to secure the best for all NHS workers. We encourage all NHS Pharmacists to get involved and strengthen the action by adding their names to the open letter.”
Note: the 14 Agenda for Change unions are the Association for Laboratory Medicine, British Association of Occupational Therapists, British Dietetic Association, British Orthoptic Society, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, GMB, PDA Union, Prison Officers Association, Royal College of Midwives, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Podiatry, Society of Radiographers, UNISON and Unite.
Get involved at your employer
The NHS consists of hundreds of employers (Trusts, health boards, etc). If there is no local PDA rep yet in place at an employer, local members are encouraged to step forward and fill the role as soon as they are able.
Learn more
- Add your name to the open letter
- Westminster government announcement on pay – 12 February 2026
- Welsh government announcement on pay – 12 February 2026
- The Department of Health and Social Care’s written evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body for the pay round 2026 to 2027
- NHS Employers’ evidence to the NHS PRB 2026/27
- 39th Report of the NHSPRB ( February 2026)
Not yet a PDA member?
If you have not yet joined the PDA, we encourage you to join today and ask your colleagues to do the same.
Membership is FREE to pharmacy students, trainee pharmacists and for the first three months of being newly qualified.
Read about our key member benefits here.