Humza Yousaf will meet with trade unions today for crisis talks after nurses in Scotland voted for strike action over pay and conditions.
The under-pressure health secretary will meet representatives from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) after its members overwhelmingly rejected a 7.5 per cent wage rise.
But Nicola Sturgeon warned the Scottish Government had now "maximised" what it could offer in terms of pay deals in this financial year. In the RCN ballot 82 per cent voted of members voted against the offer of 7.5 per cent