District nurses hold rally outside NHS meeting in Glasgow over pay dispute

District nurses have protested over pay at demonstrations outside the offices of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Dozens of protesters attended the event led by GMB Scotland on Thursday, holding banners and flags.

It comes after district nurses, who are currently on Band 6 of the Agenda for Change pay scale, voiced overwhelming support for industrial action over delayed job evaluations.

They believe the health board has failed to follow the nationally agreed-upon job evaluation process despite the trade unions and the employer agreeing on a new job description.

GMB organiser in NHS Scotland, Karen Leonard, said the row was because the “skills, qualifications and responsibilities” of the nurses justify a higher grade.

The protest was organised by GMB Scotland STV News

She said: “Our members fully engaged with the process of job evaluation in good faith, but that faith has not been justified.

“Their skills, qualifications and responsibilities have increased over the last decade to meet the complex needs of patients now living in our communities and only want their changing role to be properly recognised and fairly rewarded.

“This process has dragged on for year after year, when consensus on the way forward has been reached on a number of occasions, only for the goalposts to be moved.

“After so many false starts and needless delays, the nurses’ patience has been stretched to breaking point.

“They only want to nurse but are being driven towards industrial action by a needlessly protracted process that has left them demoralised but determined to resolve this issue.”

A ballot of members revealed 100% support for industrial action STV News

Last week, GMB’s consultative ballot of members revealed 100% support for industrial action if there is “no swift resolution”.

An NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde spokesperson said they “accept the review process has gone on for too long”.

“We greatly value the work of our district nurses and fully support the modernisation of roles”, a spokesperson said.

“We fully accept that the process of review has gone on for far too long at NHSGGC and we recognise how important it is for us to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.

“We have set out a potential way forward which would align the new job description, once evaluated, to those staff with the required qualifications and who are undertaking the role. We believe this would show fair recognition for the training and responsibilities undertaken by staff.

“We are disappointed that we have not yet been able to reach an agreement with trade unions, however, we are keen to meet again with our trade union colleagues to find a way forward for our staff and for our services.”