UNISON submit NHS pay claim to roll back austerity

thumbnail of UNISON Pay Claim 2017-18
NHS Scotland pay claim

UNISON Scotland, will formally submit their 2018 pay claim to Shona Robison Cabinet Secretary for Health and Well Being today (Monday) at 9am, when she attends NHS Tayside Health Board’s annual review.

UNISON represents 60,000 NHS workers across Scotland (excludes medics and dentists) including managers, domestics, nurses and admin workers.

The UNISON claim calls on the Scottish government to deliver their commitment to scrap the 1% pay cap for health workers and calls on them to match the retail price index or 3.9% with an additional £800 for all staff to restore some of the earnings lost due to a decade of austerity.

The pay claim letter states: “Last year we warned that health staff are unlikely to put up with the NHS Review Body being bound by a 1% pay cap for future rounds. Yet just six months away from our April 2018 review date it is still not clear whether the Review Body will be allowed free rein to make recommendations for 2018-19 which start to address the mounting morale issues and staffing shortages.

Nor is it clear whether central funding will be made available to fund the level of pay rise that is needed for all NHS staff. Without a commitment on funding, the Pay Review Body will be rightly concerned that any pay rise it recommends can only be delivered through cuts at organisational or country level.”

Tom Waterson, chair of the UNISON Scotland health committee said: “On 7 October 5000 UNISON members marched through Edinburgh demanding an end to austerity pay deals. Today UNISON build on that show of feeling, by lodging a formal pay claim on behalf of all NHS workers.

“UNISON members across the NHS have welcomed the Scottish government’s commitment to scrap the 1% pay cap, this claim seeks to redress the unfairness and inequality imposed on our members in the name of austerity.

“This UNISON pay claim is fair and reasonable. It exposes the weakness of the so called independent Pay Review Body who have provided political cover for Scottish and UK governments as they have systematically taken money out of the pockets of hard working dedicated NHS workers.”

Matt McLaughlin, UNISON Scotland’s head of health, said: “It’s time for the government to pay up now. Shona Robison has an opportunity to send a clear message of thanks to all NHS workers in the pay round ahead. She can deliver a Scottish pay deal for the NHS that begins to roll back austerity, rewards loyalty and deliver a pay deal which is fair for all in the NHS.”

Notes
The NHS Tayside Annual Review will begin at 9.00am at Kings Cross Hospital, Hospital Road, Dundee at 9.00am on Monday 16th October

UNISON members and activists will attend. Tom Waterson and Matt McLaughlin are available for comment. They will be attending to submit the pay claim to Shona Robison Cabinet Secretary for Health and Well-being

Shona Robison, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Well-being is expected to address UNISON activists between 9 and 10am.

UNISON Contacts
Matt McLaughlin head of health, 07904 341 979 / m.mclaughlin@unison.co.uk
Danny Phillips communications officer, 07944 664 110 / d.phillips@unison.co.uk