About 300 of Scotland’s lowest-paid NHS workers are still waiting for promised salary increases and back pay.
Porters, domestics, cleaners, housekeeping and security staff are among staff at University Hospital Hairmyres, in East Kilbride, who were expecting their pay rise last month. They were also expecting three months’ back payments in the same wage packet.
The key support services are run on behalf of NHS Lanarkshire by ISS UK – a facility management company part of multi-national ISS World. The company, founded in Denmark more than 100 years ago, announced profits of about £244million last year.
The failure to deliver the pay rise comes as managers have threatened to remove sick pay from staff at Hairmyres, forcing them on to statutory terms. The GMB union is threatening industrial action if the increased payments are not paid.
Nurses at Hairmyres have received their rises and other staff feel the delay shows “a complete lack of respect”. Service staff work under contract but an agreement between the Scottish Government and contractors puts their pay and conditions in line with NHS workers.
The pay rise announced in February would have meant a 6.5 per cent increase for service staff. Private contractors operating in other Scots hospitals have already passed the rise on to staff. One worker, who asked not to be identified, said: “There has been a lack of communication from management.
"Medical staff got their wage rise, nurses had theirs about two or three weeks ago and we expected ours about the same time – but we’ve heard nothing. When we ask management but don’t get any answers.
"We should all be treated with the same respect and dignity as medical staff. It shows complete disrespect.”
GMB Scotland’s Karen Leonard has written to ISS UK calling for the increase to be delivered and warning of a collective grievance over the unlawful deduction of wages if it is not. She said: “For such a wealthy, profitable company to refuse to pay some of the lowest-paid workers in the NHS what they are due is a disgrace.”
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “If the fault is theirs [ISS UK], they should pay staff immediately. If the fault is the Scottish Government’s, it is entirely inappropriate that a section of the workforce is not receiving the same pay rise as that negotiated for everyone else.”
ISS has been contacted for comment.
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