The majority of Britons would back a strike by NHS workers and many believe health staff should be awarded a bumper 7 per cent pay rise this year, according to a new poll.
As tempers last night flared over the Government s 1 per cent offer, 78 per cent of Britons revealed they would back a strike by NHS staff.
The figures come from a survey carried out by findoutnow.co.uk and reported in The Mirror.
Amid the rising tensions, Matt Hancock last night attempted to defend what he described as a fair pay offer in the face of the UK s rising Covid costs.
Furious health unions have slammed Matt Hancock over the one per cent pay rise for medics.
The British Medical Association, the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Nursing and Unison wrote an open letter to Rishi Sunak calling for a fair pay deal .
They said NHS workers have literally kept the country alive for the past year as coronavirus ripped across Britain.
But Mr Hancock last night claimed the one per cent pay rise for staff was fair - costing the government over £500million a year - and said he cared about nurses.
Dr Dan Poulter, a Tory MP and former health minister, said now was not the time for pay restraint following the 1 per cent rise.
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