NHS workers in Oxfordshire are 'furious' about their £3.50 a week pay increase that has made a 'mockery' of their heroic efforts at the forefront of the Covid-19 crisis response, a trade unionist has said.

Frontline staff have slammed the Government's proposed one per cent pay rise announced last week, which feels like a 'real kick in the teeth', after Health Minister Nadine Dorries said the country could not afford to give them more than that.

Ian McKendrick, communications officer for the local branch of Unison Health union, said that the extra pay is a 'huge insult'' and that healthcare workers are 'really angry'.

ALSO READ: At least 40 people pictured at 'christening party'

He said: "The Government claims that the money is not there, which is rubbish.

"Nobody believes that – they have just given billions to a company for Track & Trace, which does not even work, but they are telling, nurses, doctors, cleaners, porters – everyone who has kept the NHS running – that they cannot give them more than £3.50 a week, which is worth a meal deal.

"What this pay increase is saying is that their efforts were worthless – it makes a joke of all that clapping for the NHS.

"Over the last year people have made immense sacrifices to keep services going and look after people in the middle of the biggest public health crisis in the last 100 years, and it has not ended.

ALSO READ: Woman rushed to hospital with serious injuries as two drivers flee crash scene

"The pandemic has taken a tremendous toll – workers have had to leave their families at times because there is a risk of bringing infection home; one nurse that I know has spent three months living in a hostel, so that they could protect their vulnerable parents."

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) also warned that a large number of nurses could quit once the pandemic is over.

Even more, the union, which has been campaigning for a 12.5 per cent pay rise in recognition of the hard work and effort of staff during the pandemic, has now announced that it is preparing to support a mass strike in response to the Government’s offer.

RCN leaders voted unanimously last week to form a £35m industrial action fund, which would provide support and compensation for loss of earnings if members went on strike.

ALSO READ: A420 blocked in both directions by tanker fire and bus 'evacuated'

Mr McKendrick said that this is 'great' and that the Government is not leaving health workers with 'a lot of options'.

He added that normally, Unison Health would have also gone out and protested outside hospitals if it was not for the national lockdown.

Palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke, who is based in Oxford, also hit out at the pay rise shortly after the announcement: "Since 2010, NHS staff have had a real terms pay cut of 12.5 per cent – that is why this below-inflation offer is so insulting.

"It is perfectly clear this Government is only too happy to use us for photo ops but not to pay us fairly at all."

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on news@nqo.com or 01865 425 445.