NHS staff pay rise will be ‘at least’ matched in Scotland

The pay rise announced for NHS staff by the UK Government will be passed on to staff in Scotland, the Scottish health secretary has confirmed.

Shona Robison said the extra money passed through the Barnett funding formula would be invested in the Scottish pay agreement.

Both the UK and Scottish governments have lifted a longstanding one per cent cap on public sector pay rises, and finance secretary Derek Mackay’s budget included a commitment to hand lower paid NHS workers a three per cent uplift.

But yesterday the UK Government announced a deal had been struck which will see those staff in England see a pay rise of between six and 29 per cent.

The staff affected include nurses, midwives, paramedics, scientists, porters and cleaners. Higher paid workers such as consultants and senior managers are covered by separate agreements.

Trade unions have said they expect the uplift to apply in Scotland as well.

Robison told the BBC lowest paid staff in Scotland are already paid more because of the Scottish Government’s commitment to pay the Living Wage to all employees.

"We have been clear that we will ensure nurses, support staff, AHPs, and all other staff groups covered by this agreement will be paid at least as much as their counterparts in other parts of the UK,” she said.

"We'll be working to reach a Scottish agreement as soon as possible and pay uplifts will be paid at the earliest opportunity.”

Theresa Fyffe, director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland, said: “We have campaigned hard for fair pay for nursing staff and we strongly believe that maintaining pay, terms and conditions across the UK is best for the future of our National Health Service. Failure to do this will have a significant impact on recruitment and retention in NHS Scotland.

“The voice of nursing staff has been heard and we welcome the Scottish Government’s decision to open negotiations on NHS pay. Like them we want to move quickly and we will be working hard to secure the best deal for our members.”