Two unions recommend NHS Scotland staff accept new pay deal

Two unions have recommended their NHS members accept the latest pay offer from the Scottish government.

Unison and Unite have backed the proposed 5.5% increase but Unison, the largest NHS staff union in Scotland, said it was “deeply unfair” to make staff wait “for so long”.

Almost 170,000 NHS staff – including nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals and porters – have been offered the rise for 2024-25, backdated to April.

Unite will ballot its members from 28 August until 18 September, while Unison members can vote on the deal between 27 August and 20 September.

The proposed deal is expected to cost £448m and is in line with an offer made to NHS workers in England.

The Scottish government said the offer, if accepted by unions, would ensure they have the best NHS pay package in the UK.

Doctors are not included in the deal because they negotiate their pay separately.

Unite said the pay package would mean that the minimum uplift for lowest paid workers is £1,278, with a new hourly rate of £12.71.

James O’Connell, Unite’s lead negotiator for the health sector, said: “Unite has been engaged in constructive discussions with the Scottish government for a number of weeks to get a credible pay offer on the table for our valued NHS workers.

“We believe that the current 5.5% offer is the best negotiable offer under the present circumstances and it represents an increase above inflation.

“Unite will now initiate a ballot of our NHS Scotland membership and it will come with a recommendation to accept.

“The final decision is always in the hands of our membership who will ultimately decide whether the deal is good enough.”

Mr O’Connell said unions submitted the pay claim at the start of the year but it took “too long” to negotiate with the Scottish government.

He told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland that the unions applied for an above-inflation pay increase for all Agenda for Change staff and “the latest offer meets that”.

But he said morale was “incredibly low” among NHS staff due to the “continued pressures that people are under”.

He added: “I think that this is a very small step to recognising the worth of our members.

“But I think there is a wider discussion that needs to be had, in terms of resource for the NHS and how the NHS operates for the better of everybody.

“All trade unions have been very clear that we will not shy away from that, but what we will not tolerate is cuts to services and cuts to staff because they are vital in everything that we do.”

Unison said it would consider the offer “which is in line with wage lifts in many other parts of the UK”.

But it criticised how long it had taken the Scottish government to make the offer.

Matt McLaughlin, Unison Scotland’s lead on NHS pay, said: “It has taken five months campaigning to get this offer on the table, making NHS staff wait for so long is deeply unfair.

“This delay cannot be repeated at the next pay round. The Scottish government must recognise that dithering on pay directly affects staff morale.”

Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “We are pleased that Unite are recommending their members should accept a pay offer that will ensure Scotland’s nurses and NHS staff have the best pay package in the UK.

“Scotland’s healthcare staff are the very backbone of the NHS and we are committed to supporting them, particularly during a cost of living crisis. I hope members of all unions will vote to accept this offer.”

Finance Secretary Shona Robison recently warned that the government would have to make “difficult” choices to fund pay increases for public sector staff after Chancellor Rachel Reeves signalled cuts in the next UK budget.