It is believed that unions representing hundreds of thousands of health staff are close to reaching a pay agreement that would prevent further NHS strikes.
The offer would include paramedics, nurses, midwives, and physiotherapists in England, but not physicians.
It is anticipated that an accord will be announced by Thursday afternoon.
The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, expressed optimism that a resolution to the dispute was close.
“We are working extremely hard to solve these problems,” he said. We have engaged in very productive dialogue, so I’m crossing my fingers.
Healthcare employees have engaged in numerous days of strike action over pay and working conditions in recent months.
The unions involved in the current negotiations halted further action last month when the government agreed to enter negotiations.
The parties have been in negotiations for over a week, with a concentration on the size of a one-time payment to health workers for the current fiscal year.
The payment will be “substantial” to compensate for the fact that it will not continue over into the following year.
For the next fiscal year, which begins in April, the government is now anticipated to offer a higher wage increase than its previous offer of 3.5%.
In January, the annual rate of inflation was 10.1%.
Any agreement would be subject to a vote by union members.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care stated that the government, NHS employers, and unions have engaged in constructive and substantive discussions regarding pay and non-pay issues and that these discussions are ongoing.
On March 13-15, junior physicians engaged in a 72-hour strike, citing a 26% decline in the real value of their pay since 2008.
The government has stated that its request for a 35% compensation increase is “completely unaffordable.”
According to the British Medical Association, the demonstrations constitute the “first round of action.”
