Unions demand all frontline staff get £500 ‘NHS bonus’

NICOLA Sturgeon’s £500 ‘thankyou’ to NHS staff has ‘backfired’ – as furious union chiefs have now demanded that all frontline workers receive the bonus.

Unite said tens of thousands of public sector staff should also get the £500, which would cost the Government millions of pounds, as well as workers doing similar jobs in the third sector and for agencies.

The bonus was announced by the First Minister during last month’s SNP conference. Unite Scottish Secretary Pat Rafferty said: ‘There is mounting frustration at the gross unfairness of this ill-thought-out policy. Tens of thousands of key public sector workers equally deserving of the payment are being completely ignored and discriminated against by the Government.

‘How can it be fair that third sector workers who have gone beyond the call of duty to support our NHS during the pandemic will not receive £500?

‘There needs to be an immediate review of the payment because there are more holes in this policy than a kitchen sieve.’

Mr Rafferty added: ‘ Unite believes the £500 payment should be given to all workers in NHS, local authorities, private health and social care settings regardless of the hours they are employed and that it should be paid in full.’

Annie Wells, Scottish Tory local government spokesman, said: ‘The SNP’s £500 payment to NHS workers was recognised by many people as a conference speech stunt. But it now appears their stunt has backfired with many other key workers demanding similar reward for their role in dealing with the pandemic.

‘This crass policy was illconceived and has simply sown rancour and division, which is the SNP’s speciality.’

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said: ‘We simply cannot allow thousands of key workers to miss out on the £500 bonus.

‘We back Unite’s call for the eligibility for the £500 bonus to be widened.’

The Scottish Government said it had no plans to extend the bonus scheme to other workers.

A spokesman said: ‘This payment recognises the particular debt we all owe to health and care staff who have been – and continue to be – on the front line of this crisis.’