NHS workers could go on strike, after pay deal rejected

Ninety seven per cent of GMB members rejected a Scottish Government pay offer, putting them one step closer to industrial action.

The result follows an extensive consultation of members over whether to accept or reject a five per cent “final offer” tabled by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in June.

GMB is now urging the Scottish Government to improve the pay offer, particularly for the lowest paid, as joint trade unions in NHS Scotland meet today to discuss the outcomes of their consultations and to prepare plans for statutory industrial action ballots.

GMB Scotland Organiser Karen Leonard said: “GMB members have sent a clear message that government must do more to help them confront the cost-of-living crisis and avoid the prospect of more NHS staff slipping into working poverty this winter.

“More of our members are affected by debt, fuel poverty and hunger, while soaring inflation and energy bills means the real-terms value of this pay cut will get bigger with each passing month – there’s no doubt this crisis is turning into a catastrophe for many frontline staff and their families.

“If the Minister wants to recruit and retain the people desperately needed to help our NHS recover from the peril it is in, then he must value these key workers better and particularly those in the lowest pay grades, who do not receive the biggest cash increases under this offer.

“However, if these hard truths are not recognised and confronted then industrial action affecting NHS services looks inevitable in the months ahead.”