Nicola Sturgeon has hinted at a pay rise for NHS workers after she was tackled live on air by a nurse who accused her of ignoring those struggling to survive on their wages.
Claire Austin, who works as a nurse with NHS Lothian, told the First Minister that she was forced to rely on foodbanks because her salary did not go far enough.
In a heated clash during BBC Scotland's leaders' debate she also said that the Scottish NHS was suffering from a recruitment salary because of low pay.
Ms Sturgeon insisted that she was listening and would negotiate with trade unions "for fair pay not just in the NHS but across the public sector".
Ms Austin had hit out at the one per cent public sector pay cap.
She said that the SNP leader and other politicians did not "seem to be listening, there are thousands of nurse positions unfulfilled because it is so low paid. It is not a sustainable income, we cannot live on it.”
Speaking directly to Ms Sturgeon, she asked: “How many years have we had one per cent? How many? There is no pay rise, how do you expects someone to live on that. We are now having to strike... I would rather leave nursing as would many colleagues than go on strike."
She also challenged Ms Sturgeon to see what the reality of the daily life for nurses is like, adding:"You have no idea how demoralising it is to work in the NHS”.
Ms Sturgeon replied that she heard first hand from her sister the realities of working in the NHS.
But she also suggested that her government's previous priority, to prevent job losses rather than raise wages would have to end.
She said she accepted that that policy was "no longer sustainable" with rising inflation.
Ms Sturgeon said there had to be negotiations with trade unions over the current one per cent pay cap.
She said: “The paycap is not sustainable moving forward. We need to negotiate with trade unions for fair pay not just in the NHS but across the public sector
That is the difference between a Scottish government under the SNP and a UK government under the Tories.
We do listen to what out public sector workers says, because we value those who work in the public sector.”
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