The pay of NHS workers in Scotland has risen by around 9% in just two years.
Scotland’s nurses and other NHS staff have been offered a 5% pay rise.
The offer follows negotiations between trade unions and the Scottish Government over the past few weeks.
Negotiations ended yesterday (14 June) without an agreement, but the Scottish Government has today made a public offer of 5% – backdated to April 2022.
If accepted, today’s news means the pay of NHS workers in Scotland will have risen by around 9% in just two years and now sits significantly ahead of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The offer could see the starting salary of a Band 5 Staff Nurse rise to £27,409, or around £14.05 per hour.
No pay offer for the 2022/23 financial year has yet been made for NHS workers in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Short of expectations.
Unions will now consider their next steps, but they will likely ballot their members on if to accept or reject the pay award.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) says the pay offer has fallen short of their expectations and call and is well below the 5% above RPI inflation award they had been calling for.
Julie Lamberth, Chair, RCN Scotland Board, explained, “Our members demonstrated their worth many times over during the pandemic. They have put their own health and wellbeing on the line day after day, month after month. They continue to do so as we move into remobilisation and recovery.
UNISON Scotland’s regional manager, Kay Sillars, added, “This will come as a blow to health workers who are already struggling to make ends meet as day-to-day living expenses continue to rise. Achieving a significant pay increase is essential to support the retention of current staff and to stem the flow of staff leaving NHS Scotland over the next year.
