Union bosses “disappointed” at NHS pay rise

Trade union bosses have criticised the government announcement which will see NHS staff at the Royal Alexandra Hospital receive a one per cent pay rise.

Unison, which represents a huge number of NHS workers across Renfrewshire, said they were “disappointed”in the move by Health Secretary Jeane Freeman, as the offer of an interim one per cent pay hike had already been rejected by the union.

Ms Freeman said while formal pay negotiations had been impacted by the delay to the UK Government Budget, the Scottish Government will give staff an interim one per cent“payment on account”– which will be backdated to

December 2020.

The move will benefit some 154,000 NHS employees - including staff at Paisley’s hospital - all nurses, paramedics, healthcare support staff and allied health professionals, such as occupational therapists and physiotherapists.

However, union leaders insisted workers deserved a pay deal that recognises their“sacrifices”during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Unison - which hosted a protest outside the RAH as part of the Pay Up Now campaign last year - is seeking a flat rate pay increase for all NHS workers.

Willie Duffy, head of health for the

Unison trade union in Scotland, said: “We are disappointed that the Scottish health secretary has made this announcement when Unison had previously written to her rejecting this offer.”

The union is concerned about how the interim pay rise will impact on salary talks, with Mr Duffy adding:“We do not agree that NHS pay cannot be resolved until the summer of 2021. We are calling for pay negotiations to commence immediately.

“NHS staff need a pay settlement that recognises the sacrifice so many have made over the pandemic and starts to restore some of the real-terms pay cuts of the past decade and show how much the Government values the role they play in Scotland.”

“They spend their wages in local shops and businesses which will help to rebuild our economy after the pandemic.

“There will be some hard discussions in the next few weeks.”

Last month, staff at the Royal Alexandra Hospital held a two-day campaign demanding a £2,000 pay rise for all NHS workers.

The initiative, led by Unison, saw nurses, midwives, paramedics, cleaners, domestics and porters take part in a virtual pay rally to call for a fair pay rise.