THE Scottish Government has offered nurses and other NHS staff a 5.5% pay rise – although unions said it had taken “months of pressure” for ministers to put a deal on the table.
Colin Poolman, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, said staff were “rightly frustrated” that the Scottish Government had “kept them waiting while the cost of living has continued to increase".
The RCN is now beginning to consider the pay offer – which is in line with that made to NHS workers in England.
The rise would be paid to NHS Scotland staff, including nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, porters and others, but would not apply to doctors, whose pay is negotiated separately.
Almost 170,000 workers across the NHS would benefit from the rise if it was accepted, the Scottish Government said, adding the deal would see more than £448 million invested over 2024-25.
Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “Following weeks of constructive engagement with trade union representatives, I am pleased to have agreed an offer, in recognition of the Pay Review Body recommendations, that will ensure Scotland’s nurses and NHS staff have the best pay package in the UK.
“The unions will now consult their members and I hope it will be accepted.”
Gray added: “I want to express my thanks again to Scotland’s hardworking healthcare staff for their commitment and patience – they 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.”
However, Poolman said it had “taken months of pressure from the RCN and other health trade unions” for the Scottish Government to make a pay offer.
He added: “Our pay claim, submitted in February, called for an offer that reflects increases in living costs and begins to address the historic erosion of pay.
“Our members will decide if today’s announcement is enough. That process begins with RCN Scotland board members looking at the offer in detail.”
The RCN Scotland director stressed: “Nursing staff are the ever-present, safety critical workforce across the whole of health and care.
“Our wages do not reflect this and still won’t after today. Fair pay is vital to recruiting and retaining nursing staff, to filling the thousands of vacant nurse jobs and giving people the care they deserve.”
Unison said it too would consider the offer, although Matt McLaughlin, who leads for the union on NHS pay, said: “It’s a shame it’s taken this long for NHS staff in Scotland to receive a pay offer.
“Finally, workers will have the opportunity to decide whether to accept or reject the proposed raise, which is in line with wage lifts in many other parts of the UK.”
He added: “NHS staff were due a pay rise five months ago, and making them wait for so long is deeply unfair.
“This delay cannot be repeated at the next pay round. The Scottish Government must recognise that dithering on pay directly affects staff morale.”
