UNISON has welcomed the Scottish government’s offer to open pay talks for health workers in Scotland after months of delays.
UNISON Scotland, together with other NHS unions, submitted its pay claim in February and says health workers are disappointed the Scottish government has taken so long to respond.
In the past few weeks, health workers belonging to UNISON have sent more than 15,000 letters to MSPs calling for the Scottish government to open pay talks.
UNISON Scotland lead organiser for health Matt McLaughlinsaid: “Despite submitting a pay claim at the beginning of the year, the Scottish government has dragged its heels and taken months to get around the table.
“NHS staff are rightly frustrated they’ve been left struggling with rising living costs while their calls for a fair pay rise are ignored.
“Health workers are the glue that holds the NHS together and the government has to recognise their hard work by putting NHS pay right.”
£568 million for Agenda for Change (AfC) pay deal in 2023/24
Healthcare staff across Scotland have been offered the largest pay package in the history of the NHS, with a £568 million increase in investment.
160,000 NHS Agenda for Change staff – including nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, porters and others – will be offered an average 6.5% increase in pay in 2023/24.
This pay offer includes the commitment to deliver the most progressive package of terms and conditions reform in decades.
The offer also includes the commitment to modernising Agenda for Change, which was introduced nearly 20 years ago, to support workforce recruitment, sustainability and retention.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “We have engaged extensively with trade union representatives over recent weeks, leaving no stone unturned to reach an offer which responds to the key concerns of staff. Our healthcare staff have shown how dedicated and hardworking they are time and again and I cannot thank them enough for their commitment, particularly over the last few challenging years.
“Over the two years of this £1 billion of increased investment in NHS Agenda for Change, a newly qualified nurse would see their pay increase by 15.8%, and experienced nurses at the top of band 5 would see their pay improve by over £4,700.
“This ensures that Scotland’s NHS Agenda for Change staff are, by far and away, the best paid anywhere in the UK. In fact, for NHS England to catch-up with Scotland the UK Government would need to offer increases in 2023/24 of over 14% at the top of band 5, over 13% at the top of band 6, and over 12% at the top of band 7.
“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. I am grateful for the continued efforts around the table and that the trade unions will now put this to their members.”
