Scottish pay deal: unions advise nurses to reject 4% offer
RCN recommends members vote against it as GMB Scotland calls for 15% rise
NHS nurses in Scotland have been advised by unions to reject the 4% pay deal offered by the Scottish Government.
The RCN, which has been campaigning for a 12.5% wage increase, recommends members vote against the deal at its upcoming consultation ballot. GMB Scotland is calling for a 15% pay rise and also advises members to reject the offer at its ballot. Unison does not yet have an official position on the deal, but told Nursing Standard it would be consulting with members soon.
RCN says governments need to ‘demonstrate nursing staff are valued’
The official stance by the unions came after NHS workers, including nurses, staged a socially-distanced protest against the 4% pay offer in the centre of Glasgow last week.
Chair of the RCN Scotland board Julie Lamberth said: ‘We believe the nursing profession deserves fair pay that recognises our contribution, supports retention and recruitment, and compensates for the failure of salaries to keep up with the cost of living over the last ten years.’
Ms Lamberth called on governments across the UK to ‘demonstrate nursing staff are valued’, adding that members were exhausted and many were thinking of leaving the profession.
The RCN says that there are more than 3,600 nursing and midwifery vacancies in Scotland.
Ministers defend the 4% pay offer
Scottish Government ministers said the 4% deal for the 2021-22 pay round for staff on Agenda for Change contracts would boost the average pay of a front-line NHS nurse by more than £1,200 a year. The deal would be backdated to December 2020, and is on top of the one-off COVID-19 ‘thank you’ bonus of £500 paid to NHS and social care staff in Scotland.
The pay offer follows the UK government’s suggestion of a 1% pay rise for NHS workers in England. The independent Pay Review Body, which advises ministers on pay, is considering its recommendations and is due to report back to the government in May.
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