Health workers agree to pay deal

Ian Bunting

Monklands health workers are set for a pay rise after agreeing a new three year deal.

Unison NHS workers in Lanarkshire have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a nine per cent pay deal over three years, meaning pay rises for hospital and health centre workers.

But Lilian Macer, who chairs Unison’s Lanarkshire Health branch and is also the union’s Scottish convener, insisted the fight over pay wasn’t over.

She said: “Pay must remain on our agenda. We still have work to do to get back what we have lost over the past seven years which means we need to scrap the pay review body.

“We will continue to campaign to make sure our members’ pay and conditions are at the front of any campaign that we organise and we will speak to Scottish Government, speak to employers and make sure our voices are heard in these forums.”

The call comes after NHS members voted to accept a new three-year pay deal direct with the Scottish Government after years of being given pay rises through UK’s NHS Pay Review Body.

This is the first year Unison and other health unions have submitted a pay claim direct to the Scottish Government.

Thomas Waterson, chair of the Unison Health Committee, said: “I am pleased to announce that 94 per cent of Unison members have voted to accept a pay deal which will put an additional £400 million into NHS workers’ pay packets in Scotland.

“This deal delivers real increases of between three and 27 per cent for NHS workers in Scotland.

“The strong endorsement by Unison members makes it clear that we do not need to wait cap in hand for the Pay Review Body. This institution as it stands is dead in the water.

“Eighteen months ago some people said that we couldn’t negotiate a separate pay deal for NHS workers in Scotland, then they said that we couldn’t negotiate a better deal for Scotland.

“The Scottish Government should commit now to develop negotiating structures in Scotland and allow us to self-determine on pay.”