£500 NHS bonus... and promise of a 4-day week
EVERY health and social care worker will be handed a £500 bonus to thank them for their efforts battling the pandemic.
Ni cola Sturgeon yesterday announced the ‘no strings attached’ payment to all workers in the NHS and care sector.
The move will benefit around 400,000 workers, with part-time personnel receiving a pro-rata payment dependent on the amount of hours they work.
The SNP also passed a motion committing the Scottish Government to consider the introduction of a four- day week – despite fears it would cost the NHS and other public services £2.5billion a year.
The £500 bonus will be paid in the current financial year to staff, regardless of how much they earn, and the total cost will be £180million.
Staff unions welcomed the payment but said they need a fair pay deal following years of ‘restraint’, and are continuing a campaign for a 12.5 per cent increase. The SNP also yesterday confirmed that it will not impose a pay freeze for public sector staff next year.
Miss Sturgeon announced the £500 payment for health and care workers in her speech to her party’s conference – and set up another row with the UK Government by urging Boris Johnson to ensure workers do not have to pay tax on it.
But the Treasury pointed out that the move was partly funded by £8.2billion of extra cash it has handed over this year – and said the Scottish Government has the power to increase the payment to cover the tax payable if it wants to.
Miss Sturgeon yesterday spoke of how the coronavirus pandemic has ‘shaken us to our core’ and has been ‘the toughest of times’.
She described the past nine months as ‘the hardest of my life’, and said: ‘I’ve had many dark days and sleepless nights, struggling with the horrendous choices the pandemic has forced upon us.’
Miss Sturgeon added: ‘ I can announce t oday t he Scottish Government will give every full-time NHS and adult social care worker £500 as a one-off thank you payment for their extraordinary service. Of course, a payment like this can never come close to expressing our full admiration for those who have cared for us so heroically.’
Norman Provan, associate director of the Royal College of Nursing Scotland, said: ‘Our members will of course be happy to receive this oneoff payment but this does not address the years of pay restraint or the ongoing demands that nursing staff face on a daily basis.’
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said: ‘Businesses and workers will be left wondering why they held off until SNP conference to finally get the money out the door on announcements that should have been made weeks ago.’
The SNP conference also passed a motion instructing ministers to consider the introduction of a four-day working week i n the event of independence.
Party member Lee Robb made the case for a reduced working week in a motion yesterday.
He said staff who work a four-day week are ‘happier, healthier, more productive, less likely to take time off sick and less likely to be burned out by the end of the week’.
He also argued that the policy could make the case for independence more ‘tantalising’ to voters.
But Scottish Conservative economy spokesman Maurice Golden warned it would come at huge costs to the NHS and other public services. He said: ‘I’m speechless this dangerous and ludicrous policy with a £2.5billion price tag every year has been given the seal of approval by the SNP and the party’s grassroots.’
‘Does not address pay restraint’