Posted 17 February 2023 - 13:51
Posted 17 February 2023 - 13:51
News
Scotland NHS pay boost makes nurses ‘best paid in UK’
RCN members will vote on offer, but Unison demands similar progress in other UK countries and says ‘Rishi Sunak should take heed and give it a go, too’
RCN members will vote on offer, but Unison demands similar progress in other UK countries and says ‘Rishi Sunak should take heed and give it a go, too’
Nurses in Scotland have been offered an average pay rise of 6.5% by the Scottish Government for 2023-24, with union members set to vote on the package in the coming weeks.
Strikes by the RCN in the country were put on hold after health secretary Humza Yousaf met with unions for pay negotiations over the past few months.
RCN Scotland agreed to opt out of strikes in February under the condition that swift progress was made on next year’s pay offer.
Government says ‘we know our health staff are the very backbone of the NHS’
Today, Mr Yousaf announced a pay rise and one-off payment for all staff on Agenda for Change pay bands for 2023-24. 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.
He said the £568 million deal meant NHS staff were ‘by far and away the best paid anywhere in the UK’.
He added: ‘We have taken difficult decisions to find this money within the health budget because we know that our staff are the very backbone of the NHS and we are committed to supporting them, particularly during a cost-of-living crisis.’
RCN members will vote on the pay offer
Unions welcomed the offer, with RCN Scotland director Colin Poolman saying that ‘negotiations are the preferable way to resolve disputes’.
He added: ‘We now have a new offer for consideration and, as has been the case before, it is RCN members who will make the decision about what happens next.
‘That process begins with RCN Scotland board members looking at the offer in detail.’
‘Scottish ministers clearly value health workers,’ says union
The news will be a blow to nurses in the rest of the UK waiting for a pay offer for 2023-24. In England the process looks set to drag on into May as the Department of Health and Social Care is yet to submit evidence on next year’s pay to the NHS Pay Review Body.
Unison said the offer proved Westminster was once again being ‘shown up’ by actions in Holyrood, as nurses in England prepare to take part in their biggest walkout so far on 1-3 March, escalating strikes to all areas of nursing.
‘Genuine pay talks with unions can help prevent damaging NHS disputes,’ said Unison head of health Sara Gorton. ‘Dialogue has led to decent wage offers in Scotland and Wales. Rishi Sunak should take heed and give it a go, too.
‘Scottish ministers clearly value health workers and know better pay can help improve staffing levels. This is in stark contrast to the Westminster government's shoddy treatment of NHS employees.’
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