SpaceX delivers new science experiments to ISS to explore origins of life on Earth

By Josh Dinner published about 13 hours ago

SpaceX is delivering a fresh batch of scientific research equipment to the orbital laboratory.

This scanning electron microscopic image shows a biofilm, colored to show cells of Staphylococcus capitis (round orange knobs), a bacteria species isolated from the International Space Station, embedded in the biofilm matrix (larger blue rod-shaped figure), part of the preflight experiments for Biofilms. 

(Image credit: German Aerospace Center (DLR))

A new round of scientific experimentation is set to begin in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station.

For its 27th commercial resupply mission (CRS-27), SpaceX delivered a fresh round of science and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission saw a SpaceX Cargo Dragon launch on Tuesday (March 14) at 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT on March 15) atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex-39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

CRS-27 is carrying thousands of pounds of research, maintenance supplies and crew necessities to Expedition 69 crew members aboard the ISS. The space-bound experiments include: Two tissue chip studies; a high schooler-built camera hardware demonstration; an investigation into more efficient carbon dioxide absorption; a study examining different antimicrobial surfaces; and an experiment that could potentially shed light on the origins of life on Earth.

About the size of a large thumb drive, tissue chips contain living segments of engineered heart tissue suspended in a 3D matrix that can used to test responses to various stimuli in microgravity such as drugs, genetic changes and other stress factors. The final two tissue chips are part of an ongoing program between the National Center for Translational Sciences and the ISS National Lab and will be used in the Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2 research studies.

According to NASA, the predecessor to the first of those experiments affirmed hypotheses that microgravity can have a detrimental effect on heart tissue. Cardinal Heart 2.0 provides researchers an opportunity to test the heart tissue's response to preventative drugs in space, which will possibly be able to treat other heart conditions for people back on Earth.

Engineered Heart Tissues-2 will also test therapies to prevent the negative effects of microgravity on the heart. This experiment looks further into the similarities between the cardiovascular system response in low Earth orbit (LEO) and terrestrial age-related heart diseases. Researchers hope these findings will lead to ways of preventing that type of decay before it starts.

Preflight image of a BioCell, developed by BioServe Space Technologies, that contains 162 beating cardiac spheroids to be incubated in space as part of Cardinal Heart 2.0, an investigation that tests drugs to protect heart cell function. (Image credit: Joseph Wu, Dilip Thomas, and Xu Cao, Stanford Cardiovascular Institute)

From the High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH) program comes the HUNCH Ball Clamp Monopod(opens in new tab). Students from Texas high schools, Cypress Woods, Clear Creek and Conroe were able to contribute to the monopod which will test a platform for stabilizing tracking cameras inside the ISS. Once aboard, the monopods will attach to handrails and be used for video and photography inside the station, as well as ground tracking from orbit. HUNCH students also hope the technology will have practical applications for photography on Earth.

HUNCH Ball Clamp Monopods packaged for transport to the International Space Station. Students designed these devices to keep cameras stable while tracking targets on the ground or taking images and video inside the space station. (Image credit: Hunch)

Carbon Dioxide scrubbers, which help recycle breathable air aboard the space station and other in-space habitats, are some of the most maintenance-heavy equipment aboard the ISS. CapiSorb Visible System (CVS) aims to reduce that burden by researching capillary forces' usefulness in manipulating carbon dioxide-absorbing liquids.

In a NASA statement, co-investigator Grace Belancik explains, that "Using liquid sorbents to capture carbon dioxide works great on Earth, but in microgravity, it's a challenge," adding, "[CapiSorb's] geometry provides liquid control and passive transport in microgravity in the form of a continuous liquid flow loop." Belancik and other scientists hope to use data from the CapiSorb experiment to help develop carbon dioxide removal systems for future moon and Mars missions such as those planned under NASA's Artemis program.

The CapiSorb Visible System Degasser Subsystem, shown pre-flight, controls and passively transports liquid fructose while heating the liquid to drive off water vapor (Image credit: IRPI LLC)

In another study with potential impacts on future interplanetary missions, the European Space Agency (ESA) is conducting an investigation to minimize microbial contamination inside spacecraft and other in-space habitats. The Banishing Biofilms experiment is an ongoing study from the ESA into the growth of microorganisms called biofilms on various types of metal surfaces.

Per NASA's statement, "Principal investigator Ralf Möller notes that microbial contamination is inevitable on crewed space missions since microorganisms are an integral part of a healthy human body." The Banishing Biofilms study will test three different species of bacteria on three different types of metal surfaces. By investigating how these biofilms grow and interact in low Earth orbit, scientists and engineers hope to gain a better understanding of how to minimize microbial contamination in orbit through the optimized use of specific antimicrobial materials.

The Tanpopo-5 experiment from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is also stowed aboard CRS-27. Tanpopo-5 comes on the tail of four predecessor experiments to study the responses of radiation-resistant microbes, moss spores and amino acid compounds to exposure to space. Some hypotheses for the origin of life on Earth involve amino acid transmission from a meteorite impact, and recording the response of those amino acids to the cosmic ultraviolet radiation of space could better inform those ideas.

Tanpopo-5 continues this series of studies on how organisms respond to space exposure, which could inform strategies to protect other planets from human contamination and for returning extraterrestrial samples to Earth. (Image credit: NASA)

"Today, Earth's ozone layer shields much of the ultraviolet radiation, but the space environment can be considered a model for primitive Earth," said Principal Investigator Hajime Mita, Fukuoka Institute of Technology in the NASA statement. Researchers hope Tanpopo-5 data will better inform mitigative strategies for human contamination during missions to the moon and Mars.

SpaceX's CRS-27 Crew Dragon arrived at the ISS at 7:52 a.m. EDT on Thursday (March 16), and will dock to the forward port of the station's Harmony module. Dragon is scheduled to remain docked for about a month before returning to Earth via parachute splashdown off the coast of Florida, carrying more research and other return cargo.

HOW TO PISS OFF CTHULHU
A Spanish firm wants to kill one million octopuses a year using 'ice slurry' baths at first-ever factory farm

Charles R. Davis
Mar 16, 2023

An octopus in the Mediterranean Sea. Kurt AMSLER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

A proposed commercial octopus farm is sparking outrage among experts and animal rights campaigners.

The farm would slaughter roughly one million octopuses each year by submerging them in icy water.

"It would be very cruel and should not be allowed," Dr. Peter Tse told the BBC.

A proposed commercial octopus farm in Spain has sparked outrage after a leaked plan suggested that the operator intends to kill up to one million of the animals a year by submerging them, alive, in freezing water.

Companies have for years strived to produce octopuses at a commercial scale in captivity, citing growing demand and pressure to find more sustainable alternatives to fishing. But critics argue the creatures are far too smart — and capable of feeling pain — to be raised for food in confined quarters.

The proposed farm at issue would be based in Spain's Canary Islands and run by Nueva Pescanova, a seafood company that boasted in 2019 of having succeeded at not only raising octopuses in captivity but, for the first time, getting them to reproduce.

"We will continue to research how to continue improving the well-being of the octopuses, studying and replicating their natural habitat, with the expectation to be able to sell aquaculture octopus starting in the year 2023," CEO Ignacio González said at the time.

But campaigners with Eurogroup for Animals, an activist group, say that documents they obtained — and shared with the BBC — show that the proposed factory would subject octopuses to torturous conditions and a long, painful death.

In a report released Thursday, the activist group said that Nueva Pescanova intends to slaughter around one million octopuses each year by submerging them in a freezing "ice slurry." In addition, it criticizes the conditions they will be kept in prior to their slaughter, saying the company intends to cage a solitary creature in dense housing — up to 15 octopuses per cubic meter of water — and subject them to 24-hour periods of light in an effort to speed reproduction.

"It will inflict unnecessary suffering on these intelligent, sentient and fascinating creatures, which need to explore and engage with the environment as part of their natural behaviour," Elena Lara, research manager at the group Compassion in World Farming, said in a statement.

Nueva Pescanova did not respond to Insider's request for comment. But in a statement to the BBC, the company said it had high standards that ensure "the correct handling of the animals." In particular, it said, the slaughter of the octopuses "involves proper handling that avoids any pain or suffering to the animal."

Experts disagree, however, that submerging live animals in freezing water is a pleasant way to go.

"To kill them with ice would be a slow death," Dr. Peter Tse, who studies octopus cognition at Dartmouth, told the BBC. "It would be very cruel and should not be allowed."

In an open letter last year, before specific details of the proposed factory were released, a group of environmental scientists at New York University who specialize in animal sentience argued that is not possible to humanely raise octopuses in captivity at a commercial scale — and could indeed cause not just pollution, from the release of contaminated waters, but cannibalism in animals that have effectively been driven mad.

"Beyond environmental and health concerns, octopuses are capable of observational learning, have individual personalities, play, and are capable of problem-solving, deception, and interspecies hunting," the scientists wrote.

WAGE THEFT
Bed Bath & Beyond is reportedly skipping on severance payments for workers

Dominick Reuter
Mar 16, 2023

Denying severance for store employees could complicate efforts to finish selling inventory, as some workers are quitting their jobs weeks before their locations actually close, Bloomberg reported. 

Ben Tobin

Bed Bath & Beyond is skipping out on some severance payments, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

The struggling housewares giant previously paid up to 12 weeks' wages following past store closures.

More than 400 locations are slated to close as the company aims to avoid filing for bankruptcy

Bed Bath & Beyond has decided not to offer severance payments to workers at stores affected by its planned closures this year, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Citing internal documents and correspondence, as well as current and former employees with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg indicated that the decision was announced in February and appears to be a move to conserve cash and avoid declaring bankruptcy.

"We continue to take disciplined steps to enhance our cost base, improve our financial position, and enable Bed Bath & Beyond to serve our customers well into the future," a spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Insider, but declined to comment on "employee matters." A similar statement was previously provided to Bloomberg.

Bed Bath & Beyond has previously paid as much as 12 weeks' wages — worth several thousand dollars — in severance packages for employees as recently as last year, per Bloomberg.

More than 400 locations across three brands are slated to close as the struggling housewares giant attempts to salvage its business and return to profitability.

The company said this year it is targeting a final store count of 360, a mere shadow of its peak of 1,552 locations across its portfolio just five years ago.

Denying severance for store employees could complicate efforts to finish selling inventory, as some workers are quitting their jobs weeks before their locations actually close, Bloomberg reported.

Read the full story from Bloomberg.

What is AUKUS? With China Spooked by Nuclear Subs Deal, a Look at the Agreement

By: Vidushi Sagar
News18.com
MARCH 14, 2023

US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak deliver remarks on the AUKUS partnership.

 Reuters/FILE (Image: Reuters)

Explained: AUKUS is the term given to the security agreement reached by Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States

The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom are traveling “further down the wrong and dangerous path for their own geopolitical self-interest,” China’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, responding to an agreement under which Australia will purchase nuclear-powered attack submarines from the U.S. to modernize its fleet.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said the arrangement, given the acronym AUKUS — for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States — arises from the “typical Cold War mentality which will only motivate an arms race, damage the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, and harm regional stability and peace.”

U.S. President Joe Biden flew to San Diego to appear with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as they hailed an 18-month-old nuclear partnership that enables Australia to access nuclear-powered submarines, which are stealthier and more capable than conventionally powered vessels, as a counterweight to China’s military buildup.

Biden emphasized the ships would not carry nuclear weapons of any kind. Albanese has said he doesn’t think the deal will sour its relationship with China, which he noted had improved in recent months.

BUT WHAT IS AUKUS? NEWS18 EXPLAINS:

AUKUS is the term given to the security agreement reached by Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (A-UK-US) in the end of 2021. The first and largest part of the agreement is the submarine contract, also known as Pillar One.

Both the United Kingdom and the United States, which have nuclear-powered submarines, agreed to collaborate with Australia and provide schematics for their subs so that Australia might build its own, explains a report by ABC.

The second AUKUS pillar will involve improving our defence capabilities with the assistance of the UK and the US in general.

Biden views the partnerships and alliances in the region as cornerstones for U.S. strategy for years to come. Asked if AUKUS would survive if a new, more isolationist president was elected — a veiled reference to Donald Trump, who is running for another term — Biden said yes.

The secretly brokered AUKUS deal included the Australian government’s cancellation of a $66 billion contract for a French-built fleet of conventional submarines, which sparked a diplomatic row within the Western alliance that took months to mend.

The US is sharing a once highly-guarded missile system that will make British and Australian nuclear submarines far more deadly

Tom Porter
Mar 14, 2023,

The Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Michigan arrives for a regularly scheduled port visit while conducting routine patrols throughout the Western Pacific in Busan, South Korea, 

 Jermaine Ralliford/Courtesy U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS

The US is sharing submarine missile launch tech with allies to counter China.

 
The subs would be equipped to fire hypersonic missiles capable of evading air defense.

 
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between China and the US.

The US is sharing once-secret submarine missile launch technology with Australia and the UK as part of a pact to counter growing Chinese military power in the Pacific region, reports say.

The US, UK, and Australia on Monday announced plans for Australia to obtain a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.

Under the AUKUS pact, which was first unveiled in 2021, the US will sell Australia three of its nuclear-powered submarines, while the UK and Australia will collaborate to build new vessels - a model that is being called SSN - AUKUS.

The deal will involve building at least eight nuclear-powered submarines for the Australian naval fleet, using UK designs, and underpinned by a US-made vertical launch system.

Sidharth Kaushal, an analyst at London's Royal United Services Institute, said that technology gives the submarines the capacity to fire hypersonic missiles, which can evade defense systems.

"Hypersonic missiles are important as they have the speed and range to penetrate defended airspace and hit hardened targets," he told Insider. "For nations which do not have stealth bombers (everyone excluding the US) they may represent the only way of striking targets at reach within well defended enemy airspace."

According to reports, the new Australian submarines will also have the capacity to fire cruise missiles through the vertical launch system.

The fact that they are nuclear-powered means the submarines can operate at far greater distances, and stay submerged for longer.


Until the AUKUS pact, the UK was the only country with which the US had shared its nuclear submarine technology.

The new Australian submarines will begin operation in the 2040s, and the new UK subs in the 2030s. In the interim, the US and UK will berth nuclear submarines in Perth, Western Australia.

Defiant European Central Bank powers on with 0.5% interest rate hike despite financial market turmoil

By JOHN-PAUL FORD ROJAS FOR THE DAILY MAIL
PUBLISHED: 16 March 2023

The European Central Bank (ECB) yesterday pressed ahead with a half percentage point interest rate hike despite financial market turmoil –but admitted the crisis could take its toll on the wider economy.

ECB chief Christine Lagarde stressed it was focused on bringing down inflation – and closely monitoring the turbulence.

The decision came hours after Credit Suisse accepted a £45billion bailout from the Swiss National Bank amid global jitters over the sector.

Crunch call: ECB chief Christine Lagarde (pictured) said rate setters were focused on bringing down inflation but that the bank was monitoring the turbulence

Investors have been betting that the turmoil will slow the pace of rate rises by central bankers in Europe, America and the UK.

Rates decisions from the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are due next week. The fear is that more big increases could spell further trouble for lenders whose vast holdings of bonds fall in value when rates go up.

Lagarde insisted there could be no ‘trade-off’ between the rises needed to fight inflation – at 8.5 per cent in the eurozone – and financial stability.

She played down the idea that a financial crunch on the scale of the 2008 crisis could be under way, saying banks today were ‘much stronger’ but acknowledged the potential for the crisis to bleed into the wider economy.

The ECB rate is now 2.5 per cent to 3 per cent, its sixth consecutive rate hike. Lagarde said it was supported by a ‘very large majority’ of rate setters.

Tom Hopkins, at BRI Wealth Management, said: ‘Some may find this increase surprising given investor fears over the strength of the banking system.’

Carsten Brzeski, at ING Bank, said: ‘Every additional rate hike increases the risk of breaking something. We expect the ECB to turn more dove-ish, probably hinting at a slowdown in the pace and size of further hikes.’

Paul Dales, at Capital Economics, said it was ‘almost 50/50’ whether the Bank would go for a quarter-point rise or end the hikes.

A lot will depend on what happens in the global banking system between now and next Thursday,’ Dales said.

UK

NHS strikes: UK government, healthcare unions agree final pay offer

Three of the unions, Unison, GMB and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said they recommended their members accept the offer

The NHS Staff Council brings together NHS employers and unions representing staff, including nurses, paramedics and midwives (Photo:Getty Images)

By: Chandrashekar Bhat

• 16 March, 2023

Unions representing healthcare workers in England agreed a final pay offer with the British government on Thursday (16), potentially bringing an end to some strikes affecting the state-run National Health Service (NHS).

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has been under growing pressure to quell the worst run of worker unrest in the country since the 1980s, with strikes affecting almost every aspect of a normal life from healthcare and transport to schools and border checks.

“The government and the NHS Staff Council have completed negotiations and reached a final offer,” they said in a joint statement. “Both sides believe it represents a fair and reasonable settlement.”

The NHS Staff Council brings together NHS employers and unions representing staff, including nurses, paramedics and midwives. The agreement did not apply to junior doctors, who are engaged in a separate dispute with the government.

The offer still needs to be put to union members for their approval.

Three of the unions, Unison, GMB and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), said they recommended their members accept the offer. Unite said it would pause strike action while members voted, but it was unable to recommend the offer.

“It is not a panacea, but it is real tangible progress,” RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen said.

The offer includes a one-off payment of two per cent of 2022/23 salaries and a five per cent pay rise for 2023/24, the government said. It will apply to more than 1 million people, including those who are not part of the unions.

Sunak said he was “really pleased” at what he called a “fair deal” reached after several weeks of talks.

“Importantly, this deal is also affordable for the taxpayer and continues to deliver on my promise to halve inflation,” Sunak said.

The agreement is a significant breakthrough, coming a day after half a million Britons went on strikes to coincide with the government’s budget. Last month, tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance service staff staged the biggest ever strike in the NHS’s 75-year history.

Previously the government said it could not meet workers’ demands for bigger pay rises to help cope with inflation’s surge above 10 per cent. Ministers had said doing so would be unaffordable and could drive inflation higher.

(Reuters)

NHS strikes: Pay deal signals end to wave of public sector strikes

The deal includes a 6 per cent lump sum for this year and close to 5 per cent for the next financial year

NHS staff in England have been offered a 5 per cent pay rise and one-off bonus in a landmark deal which sees the end to months of strikes. (Photo by Carlos Asso/AFP)

By Jane Merrick

Policy Editor

March 16, 2023 

Health unions and the government have struck a breakthrough pay agreement that will see NHS nurses and paramedics suspend strike action after months.

It is hoped the breakthrough could open the door for deals in other sectors where the government is the employer.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, asked by Andrew Marr on LBC whether the deal could be beginning of a wider settlement of public sector pay, said: “I hope so. I mean, the Government’s attitude to all these groups of workers is the same, we would like to sit down and settle them reasonably but in a way that doesn’t risk the economic recovery of the country. And I hope today will be the start of that change.”

Mike Clancy of Prospect, which represents striking civil servants, said the NHS deal could provide a “template for unlocking disputes elsewhere in the wider public sector”.

It follows six days of talks between ministers and health unions, and months of industrial action in which walkouts disrupted hospital care and 999 calls.

The Prime Minister hailed the deal telling staff during a visit to a hospital in south London: “We’ve been working really hard at it, but we’ve managed to find a great agreement with the Royal College of Nursing and all the other unions to make sure you guys all get recognised and rewarded for the fantastic job you do for us.

“And do that in a way that works for us as well and is affordable, so we’re really pleased.”

But the deal saw the government tear up its red line on not opening talks on this year’s pay and can be considered a significant victory for the unions.

Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said: “Thanks to the strength and hard work of GMB’s NHS members, the Government has gone from refusing to talk about pay to putting an extra 2.5 billion pounds on the table for this year.

“GMB members should rightly be proud of themselves. It’s been a tough road but they have faced down the Department of Health and won an offer that we feel is the best that can be achieved at this stage through negotiation.

“If the offer is accepted then it would meet a key GMB demand of a huge pay uplift for the lowest paid to keep them well above the Real Living Wage.”

Mr Sunak said the money would not come from frontline resources but partly from non-clinical DH budgets and new money from Treasury.

Strike action will now be put on hold while hundreds of thousands of members are balloted over the offer, which applies to NHS workers in England.

The agreement – which is costing the government £2.5bn – does not include junior doctors, who are yet to join talks with the government over their pay dispute.

Nurses, ambulance workers, physiotherapists and other NHS workers will be awarded a one-off lump sum of 6 per cent for this year plus an enhanced pay offer for next year of 5 per cent.

The 6 per cent for this financial year consists of the 4 per cent already on the table, plus a one-off payment of 2 per cent the government has called an “NHS Backlog Bonus” worth at least £1,250 per person.

The 2023-24 offer is a significant increase from the 3.5 per cent on the table at the start of the strike action.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay called on junior doctors to follow the example of other health unions.

“We have offered the same terms to the junior doctors that were accepted by the other trade unions and that is what I hope the junior doctors will respond to,” he said.

And a No10 spokesman said: “We want to talk to those other unions where there are ongoing industrial action, but we’ve been clear that we want to see those paused before we start those talks.

UNISON head of health Sara Gorton said: “It’s a shame it took so long to get here. Health workers had to take many days of strike action, and thousands more had to threaten to join them, to get their union into the room and proper talks underway.

“But following days of intensive talks between the government, unions and employers, there’s now an offer on the table for NHS staff.

“If accepted, the offer would boost pay significantly this year and mean a wage increase next year that’s more than the government had budgeted for.

“This is better than having to wait many more months for the NHS pay review body to make its recommendation.

“UNISON will now be putting this offer to the hundreds of thousands of health members in the union in the next few weeks, recommending acceptance.

“In the coming days, health workers will have the chance to look at the full detail of what’s on offer and decide whether that’s enough to end the dispute. While that process takes place any planned industrial action will be paused.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Following months and months of unnecessary delay, the government finally gets into the negotiating room. They need to take full responsibility for their dither and delay, which has caused unnecessary pain to both staff and patients in the NHS.

“It is clear that the government has been forced into negotiations and the subsequent move, because of strike action and the support of the public for the NHS.

“The offer from government is not one that Unite can recommend to our members, but ultimately it is important that our members make the final decision. Unite will support members in whichever decision they now make. As Unite members are being consulted strike action will be paused.

“It is clear that this government does not hold the interest of workers or the NHS at heart. Their behaviour and disdain for NHS workers and workers generally is clear from their actions.

“Britain has a broken economy and workers are paying the price.”

NHS strikes suspended after new pay offer from British government

Ambulance members of Unison and Unite were due to strike next Monday and physiotherapists were going to walkout later this month but the action has been called off.

The breakthrough follows days of talks with the Government over the long-running dispute over pay (James Manning/PA)

THU, 16 MAR, 2023 - 19:21

ALAN JONES, PA INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT

Unions have suspended further strikes by ambulance and other NHS staff and will recommend acceptance of a new pay offer to NHS workers.

The breakthrough follows days of talks with the British government over the long-running dispute over pay which has led to a series of walkouts by nurses, ambulance crews, paramedics, hospital porters and other health workers in recent months.

Ambulance members of Unison and Unite were due to strike next Monday and physiotherapists were going to walk out later this month but the action has been called off.

Unison said the offer to NHS workers in England includes an additional one-off lump sum for 2022-23 that rises in value up the NHS pay bands.

This is worth £1,655 (€1,888) for staff at the bottom of band two (for example porters, cleaners and healthcare assistants), £2,009 (€2,292) for staff at the top of band five (nurses, midwives, physiotherapists), £2,162 (€2,467) at the top of band six (paramedics, health visitors, senior occupational therapists) and £3,789 (€4,300) for staff at the top of band nine.

There will be a permanent 5% pay rise on all pay points for 2023-24.

Ministers said they could guarantee there will be no impact on frontline services as the result of the pay offer.

There will be further discussions between DHSC and the Treasury over how it will be funded, the PA news agency understands.

Union members will now vote on whether to accept the deal.

Unison’s head of health Sara Gorton said: “It’s a shame it took so long to get here. Health workers had to take many days of strike action, and thousands more had to threaten to join them, to get their unions into the room and proper talks underway.

“But following days of intensive talks between the Government, unions and employers, there’s now an offer on the table for NHS staff.

“If accepted, the offer would boost pay significantly this year and mean a wage increase next year that’s more than the Government had budgeted for.

“This is better than having to wait many more months for the NHS pay review body to make its recommendation.

“Unison will now be putting this offer to the hundreds of thousands of health members in the union in the next few weeks, recommending acceptance.

“In the coming days, health workers will have the chance to look at the full detail of what’s on offer and decide whether that’s enough to end the dispute. While that process takes place any planned industrial action will be paused.”

Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary, said the British government has gone from refusing to talk about pay this year to putting an extra £2.5 billion on the table.

She said: “GMB members should rightly be proud of themselves. It’s been a tough road but they have faced down the Department of Health and won an offer that we feel is the best that can be achieved at this stage through negotiation.

“If the offer is accepted then it would meet a key GMB demand of a huge pay uplift for the lowest paid to keep them well above the Real Living Wage.

“Progress has also been made on non-pay demands, such as addressing violence in the workplace.

“This offer is far from perfect, and of course our NHS workers deserve more. GMB’s national committee is recommending that the offer be accepted – but the final decision belongs to our members.

“Strike action will be paused until the outcome of the ballot.”

Elaine Sparkes, assistant director of employment relations at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, said: “It is without question the case that the courage and determination shown by CSP members and other NHS staff in taking widespread strike action is what brought the government back to the negotiating table, albeit belatedly.

“For many months the government refused to discuss any additional pay rise for 2022-23, a position they have now had to reverse.

“We always aim for consolidated pay rises. This new offer equates to a one-off payment of around £2,000 for most NHS staff, in addition to the £1,400 consolidated rise already in place.

“Although non-consolidated, this would go some way to offsetting what will have been a very difficult winter for many.”

British Health Secretary Steve Barclay said “balance was required on both sides” to reach an agreement.

Asked why the Government had not offered something regarding this year’s pay at an earlier point in negotiations, he said: “We have listened to the concerns of the trade unions, we’ve had meaningful discussions with them. Both sides have engaged constructively.

“Obviously the starting position from a number of the unions was much higher and so both sides have worked together to reach a settlement which is both affordable to the wider taxpayer and then balances the very real pressures we recognise that NHS workers have been on.

“So balance was required on both sides, that is what the talks explored.”

British prime minister Rishi Sunak said the deal is “affordable for the taxpayer and continues to deliver on my promise to halve inflation”.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “As unions consult their members over the proposed NHS pay offer, it’s important to recognise the stand taken by each and every union member who took and voted for strike action over the last few weeks and months.

“It’s down to them that the Government finally came to the negotiating table.

“It’s now essential that ministers sit down for meaningful talks with education and civil service unions.

(PA Graphics)

“These disputes can be resolved if the Conservatives are willing to act in good faith and deliver on fair pay.”

Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen said: “The Government was forced into these negotiations and to reopen the pay award as a result of the historic pressure from nursing staff. Members took the hardest of decisions to go on strike and I believe they have been vindicated today.

“After tough negotiations, there are a series of commitments here that our members can see will make a positive impact on the nursing profession, the NHS and the people who rely on it.

“Our members will have their say on it and I respect everybody’s perspective. Each should look closely at what it means for them.

“As well as the additional money now, we have made real progress with the Government on safe staffing measures, a new pay structure for nursing, support for newly qualified staff and pensions too.

“It is not a panacea but it is real tangible progress and the RCN’s member leaders are asking fellow nursing staff to support what our negotiations have secured.”

The proposed NHS pay deal explained in full

The proposed deal comprises of a one-off payment for the current financial year plus a rise of 5% for most workers in 2023-24

by James McKay
16 March 2023


In return, the government wants to end to all strike action.

The government has made a formal pay offer to NHS workers following several weeks of “intense” negotiations with health unions.

Under the deal, NHS workers in England would receive a 2% non-consolidated pay rise and a so-called “Covid-recovery bonus” for the current financial year, plus a rise of 5% for most workers in 2023-24.

If the deal is agreed upon, the government wants an end to all industrial action for the duration of the agreement.

A “one-off” payment.

A one-off non-consolidated award payment would be made to all staff.

It will not contribute towards your ongoing annual salary and would be subject to deductions such as tax, national insurance and student loan contributions.

It is not yet clear when this payment would be made.

The pay rise.

The lowest-paid NHS workers will see a consolidated rise of 10.4%, with all other NHS workers receiving a flat rate of 5%.

It would be implemented from April 2023 and backdated if the deal is agreed upon after this date.

Your personal pay offer.

You can find out which Pay Point you are on by analysing our Agenda for Change pay calculator.

Non-pay elements

The government has also committed to implementing a number of other non-pay changes.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan will be published, which according to the Health Secretary will “ensure the NHS can recruit and retain the staff it needs in the future”.

A new pay spine will be created exclusively for all nursing staff, taking into account their skills and experience, with the intention of it coming into force for 2024/25.

They also pledged to address nursing career progression, violence and aggression at work, and make the NHS pay review body process more streamlined.
What happens next?

Health unions will ask their members to vote on if to accept or reject the proposed deal. You can download a copy of the full proposal.

Would you vote to accept or reject the deal?

Accept

46%

Reject

54%

Total Votes: 6888

Despite being significantly below the rate of inflation, most health unions, including the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and UNISON, are recommending its members accept the deal.

Unite response to NHS pay offer

Thursday 16 March 2023

Responding to the government’s new pay offer for NHS workers in England Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:

“Following months and months of unnecessary delay, the government finally gets into the negotiating room. They need to take full responsibility for their dither and delay, which has caused unnecessary pain to both staff and patients in the NHS.

“It is clear that the government has been forced into negotiations and the subsequent move, because of strike action and the support of the public for the NHS.

“The offer from government is not one that Unite can recommend to our members, but ultimately it is important that our members make the final decision. Unite will support members in whichever decision they now make. As Unite members are being consulted strike action will be paused.

“It is clear that this government does not hold the interest of workers or the NHS at heart. Their behaviour and disdain for NHS workers and workers generally is clear from their actions.

“Britain has a broken economy and workers are paying the price.”

End of the NHS strikes in sight: Will other unions now agree to new million-pound pay deals?

16 March 2023, 23:27

The NHS pay deal has sparked hope of similar agreements for other striking workers. Picture: Getty

By Kit Heren

@yung_chuvak

A pay deal for NHS workers has sparked fresh hope that more strikes in other industries can be avoided, with the Chancellor and union chiefs hinting that similar agreements can be thrashed out.

A government spokesman announced on Thursday afternoon that a deal for nurses and ambulance workers had been reached, including a pay rise for 2022/23 and a pay settlement for 2023/24.

The offer consists of a one-off payment for the current financial year 2022/23 worth between £1,655 and £3,789 for Agenda for Change staff in England and a 5 per cent consolidated pay increase for 2023/24.

Unions are recommending members support the deal after weeks of talks aimed at stopping strikes. The Royal College of Nursing, Unison and the GMB have all said they are backing the deal.

And Jeremy Hunt told LBC he hopes that the government's NHS pay offer could lead to more breakthroughs among other public sector workers who have walked out in recent months.

NHS workers have been striking for months. Picture: Getty

Speaking to Andrew Marr on Thursday evening, Chancellor Mr Hunt said that he hoped the 5% pay rise offer to ambulance workers and nurses could lead to an end to walkouts among professions like teachers and civil servants.

"The government's attitude to all these groups of workers is the same, we would like to sit down and settle them reasonably but in a way that doesn't risk the economic recovery of the country," Mr Hunt said."And I hope today will be the start of that change."

Rishi Sunak also called on other striking public sector unions to call off their industrial action and get negotiating with the government.

"We want to have constructive dialogue with unions," the Prime Minister said during a visit to a south London hospital on Thursday.

Sunak called for other unions to begin negotiating. Picture: Getty

"We are serious about finding fair and reasonable agreements on public sector pay. I think today's agreement demonstrates that.

"We don't want disruption for patients, we don't want disruption for schoolchildren in our classrooms.

"So please come and get round the table, I am confident we can find a way through this. Today's agreement demonstrates we are serious about this and we can find workable solutions."

The government spokesman said ministers and unions believe the NHS deal represents "a fair and reasonable settlement" that acknowledges the dedication of NHS staff, while acknowledging the wider economic pressures currently facing the UK.

"Those unions with mandates for industrial action, RCN, Unison, GMB, CSP, Unite and BDA, will now consult their members in consultations that will be held over the coming weeks. Strike action will continue to be paused while these ballots are ongoing," the spokesman said.

The government said the NHS would fund the pay rise itself, rather than the Treasury, although ministers said that no money would be diverted from frontline health services.

But the NHS has previously said it would have to cut back cancer services to cover pay rises out of its own budget. The Times reported that the Treasury could take extra money out of a contingency fund to make up any shortfalls.

Civil servants striking this week. Picture: Alamy

Other unions representing striking workers in professions like the civil service and education, as well as junior doctors, said the NHS deal could represent an "encouraging" precedent for pay deals for their own members.

Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, said: "The deal being hammered out in the NHS by unions and the Government may provide a template for unlocking disputes elsewhere in the wider public sector.

"Yesterday, thousands of Prospect members took strike action across the civil service and wider public sector - our biggest action for more than a decade.

"This was after 80% voted for strike action on a 72% turnout, a result that should have been a wake-up call for ministers and officials and enough to trigger intensive negotiations.

"Our members are highly skilled professionals and are rightly sick of being treated as the poor relation to those doing similar jobs in the private sector and other parts of the public sector.

"They will be looking closely at what the Government has offered in terms of the NHS and expect the Government to pursue similar active negotiations with them."

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was encouraging that unions had secured a pay deal, the TES reported.

He added: “We remain hopeful that there will soon be a resolution in the education sector that addresses the serious concerns around pay and conditions and brings the industrial dispute to an end.”

Meanwhile Health Secretary Steve Barclay called on junior doctors to follow the example of other health unions which have settled with the Government and call off their industrial action and enter into talks on pay.

"We have offered the same terms to the junior doctors that were accepted by the other trade unions and that is what I hope the junior doctors will respond to," he said.

"But a request from them for a pay rise of 35% is not affordable. That is why we need to see from them the same sort of leadership that we have seen from the trade unions in the Agenda for Change contract."

Read more: Strike action paused as NHS unions and government reach deal on pay

Read more: Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ‘hopes’ for more strike-ending pay deals - as long as they 'don’t risk economy'

Doctors' union the British Medical Association welcomed an invitation to discuss pay and suggested a new meeting with the Government on Friday.

The BMA, whose junior doctor members were on strike this week, said negotiations should have started months ago.