Unison NHS workers vote to avert strikes and accept Scottish Government pay offer

A second union has voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting the Scottish Government’s pay deal for NHS workers.

Unison, the biggest health union in Scotland, has accepted a 5.5% wage uplift for health workers, which will be backdated from April 1.

The decision will avoid the threat of strikes and comes two days after Unite overwhelmingly accepted the offer.

Both unions said it was the “best deal” available for workers. The Royal College of Nursing is expected to reveal the result of its ballot later on Friday.

Scotland

NHS strike averted as workers overwhelmingly accept 5.5% pay offer

Unite members in the NHS backed the deal from the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government tabled the deal, which is in line with that proposed in England, to NHS Scotland staff in August.

It could see almost 170,000 employees – including nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, porters and others – receive a pay rise that would be backdated to April.

With the package worth £448m, Unite said that the lowest-paid workers would get a £1,278 salary increase, and a new hourly rate of £12.71, if the offer is accepted.

The deal doesn’t include doctors who negotiate pay separately.

Unison said it will meet with other health unions on Monday to agree on a formal joint response to the deal.

Matt McLaughlin, the union’s lead health organiser, said: “Unison represents almost two-fifths of NHS workers and has secured the best deal currently possible.

“But acceptance of this offer should not lead to complacency from the Scottish Government.

“If ministers are serious about recognising and rewarding NHS staff for the incredible job they do, they need to be far better at dealing with the annual pay round.

“There’s considerable anger that it’s taken 200 days to get an offer on the table and hard-working staff won’t see a bump in their pay until at least the end of October.”

Health secretary Neil Gray said: “I am delighted that Unison has voted to accept this pay offer, which ensures NHS staff in Scotland including nurses, paramedics, and ancillary staff, have the best reward package in the UK.”