NHS staff will receive higher pay under the deal

Members of the biggest health union, Unison, voted overwhelmingly in favour of plans to run pilot trials of the new contract, known as Agenda for Change.

They will vote later this year on whether the contract should be introduced across the NHS.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Midwives have already backed the deal.

However, members of the Society of Radiographers, which has 16,000 members, voted narrowly against it last month.

Strong support

Figures from Unison, which represents almost half a million NHS staff, including nurses and support workers, show 22% took part in the vote. Of these, 82% backed piloting the deal.

The government announced plans earlier this year to pilot the proposed contract in 12 sites across England.

We can now make the necessary arrangements to ensure that all staff can receive their pay award as quickly as possible Health Minister John Hutton

It is scheduled to be rolled out across the NHS from October 2004.

Karen Jennings, head of health at Unison, said: "This decision is of crucial importance to the future of the NHS and its staff.

"Our members have chosen to put Agenda for Change to the test to see how well it works in practice before deciding whether to extend it across the NHS.

"A lot of work has been done by Unison to get the information across to members but the impetus is now firmly on the government to ensure that it keeps its promises and sorts out any anomalies raised by the pilot sites before we put it to the test again."

Health Minister John Hutton said he was delighted that unions had supported moving to the next stage of implementing Agenda for Change.

"Whilst this is still subject to final agreement by the UK health departments, unions and employer representatives, it will clearly be a great step forward and is a flagship example of national partnership working," he said.

"This means we can now make the necessary arrangements to ensure that all staff can receive their pay award as quickly as possible."

Under Agenda for Change, new pay bands will be linked to "job evaluation". They will replace a myriad of different pay structures which have been described as archaic by both unions and government.

The deal, which could cost the government over �3bn, is linked to changes in working practices which the government says will "modernise" the NHS by, for instance, keeping operating theatres open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.