Scots NHS workers in line for minimum 9% increase in pay
A BUMPER pay settlement could see 147,000 NHS staff in Scotland getting bigger increases than their counterparts in England.
The vast majority of workers would get a minimum 9 per cent hike, while some staff would see their wages rise by £3,250 more than in other parts of the UK.
But critics said this was still not enough to redress a situation in which NHS staff have been overworked and underpaid for years.
The Scottish Government announced yesterday that employees earning up to £80,000 will, if the deal is agreed by staff, receive a minimum cumulative rise of 9 per cent over three years, with those earning more receiving a flat rate rise of £1,600 a year. Health services union Unison has recommended that its members accept the deal.
Tam Waterson, chairman of Unison Scotland’s health committee, said: ‘This is not a perfect deal and it does not go the full way to recovering the losses incurred by health workers during more than a decade of austerity and pay cuts. But it puts money in our members’ pockets now so that many will reach the agreed rate for the job faster than they would have done with current pay arrangements.’
But Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said workers such as nurses, porters and paramedics would be hit by the higher taxes they have to pay in Scotland.
He added: ‘NHS staff are among the most dedicated and hardworking in the country, and deserve to be rewarded. This pay rise is thanks to the record NHS resources the UK Government has given the SNP Government.
‘The SNP has made Scottish nurses earning over £26,000 pay higher taxes than their English counterparts so it’s clear a greater uplift was needed to cover this.
Liberal Democrat health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘This pay rise is a welcome step... but it will not make up for the pay stagnation and erosion that has happened over the last ten years the SNP have been in power.’
At the SNP conference this month, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a 3 per cent pay rise this year for most NHS staff. This would be extended across three years. It means a ward nurse would get a salary of £31,649 by 2020/21, compared to the £30,615 paid in England. A hospital porter would receive £20,606 in Scotland compared to £19,337 in England, while an advanced nurse practitioner – a nurse with additional specialist skills – would be paid £46,006 in Scotland compared to £44,503 in England.
In the biggest boost to pay packets, senior managers in areas such
‘They deserve to be rewarded’ ‘Stagnation and erosion’
as administration and consultant paramedic roles would see their wages increase to £76,914, around £3,000 more than the same posts in England.
A pay deal was recently announced for NHS staff south of the Border but this will amount to 6.5 per cent over three years. Health Secretary Shona Robison said: ‘Our NHS is built on the dedication and hard work of healthcare staff.
‘In this 70th anniversary year [of the health service] I am delighted we have been able to offer NHS Scotland staff a pay settlement which not only matches the NHS England deal, but exceeds it.’
Theresa Fyffe, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, said: ‘This is the largest pay rise offered to nurses in ten years and we believe it is the best deal that can be achieved through negotiation at this time.
‘It is now time for members to make up their own minds on whether to accept or reject it.’