Posted 28 February 2023 - 13:06
Posted 28 February 2023 - 13:06
News
Nurses urged to vote for key pay deal to be ‘best paid in UK’
RCN says offer for Scotland, which includes an average pay rise of 6.5%, ‘will make a positive difference for our members’
RCN says offer for Scotland, which includes an average pay rise of 6.5%, ‘will make a positive difference for our members’
Nurses in Scotland are being urged to vote for a key pay offer that will see them become the best paid in the UK.
RCN Scotland has opened its ballot on the country’s new pay offer for 2023-24, and is recommending that members accept it.
Nurses would see pay rise from April
Nurses in Scotland have been offered an average pay rise of 6.5% by the Scottish Government, alongside a package of non-pay measures including a review of Agenda for Change.
Nurses on bands 5 to 7, for example, will see a 6.5% uplift in pay as well as a one-off payment of between £461 and £821.
If members vote to accept the offer, they can expect to see it in their April pay packet, according to RCN Scotland.
Staff should read pay offer in full, says RCN
RCN Scotland board chair Julie Lamberth said: ‘We believe that, taking into account the pay increase as well as the review of Agenda for Change, it will make a positive difference for our members.
‘I strongly urge members to read the new pay offer in full to find out what it means for them individually and to use their vote. It is up to them to decide whether to accept the offer.’
RCN Scotland agreed to opt out of strikes in February under the condition that swift progress was made on next year’s pay offer.
Nurse pay situation in other UK countries
The ballot puts RCN members in Scotland ahead of their colleagues in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, who are yet to agree on a pay deal for 2022-23.
In England a planned 48-hour strike from 1 March was called off after the government and the RCN agreed to enter ‘intensive’ pay talks.
Just hours later the Department of Health and Social Care published its evidence to the NHS Pay Review Body on the 2023-24 pay round, recommending a pay rise of no more than 3.5% for NHS staff.
The move was criticised by nurses, who are still in dispute over this year’s offer of 4% and were hoping that recent strike action would force the government to consider a higher pay offer for next year.
Other unions warn they must be included in pay talks
In Wales ministers have offered an additional 3% on top of the 4% offer, as well as non-pay elements including a commitment to ensure flexible working. RCN members were voting on the offer until 27 February, and a result is expected soon.
Meanwhile, other health unions have expressed concern that the Westminster government is only in talks with the RCN despite pay disputes covering a range of NHS staff. They warned this could make a bad situation worse.
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