WELL, IT'S A START

THE FIGHT FOR FAIRNESS: A BREAKTHROUGH AT LAST

- MARTIN BAGOT

• Heroes of NHS get pay offer... after Tory dithering
• Calls for rest of key workers to be rewarded

AFTER months of dragging their heels and insisting there was no cash for NHS heroes, the Tories last night finally put forward a pay offer.

It means the biggest industrial unrest in the history of the service could come to an end if union members accept.

The offer of a one-off bonus of 2.5% for the best-paid staff and 8.2% for the worst this year and a 5% wage rise for 2023/24 was branded far from ideal while inflation still rages at above 10%.

But it marked a victory for thousands of NHS workers who took on a No10 determined to crush their demands by insisting they were unaffordable.

And it will pile pressure on ministers to stump up cash for other key public sector staff pleading for a fairer wage, including teachers and junior doctors.