POLICE, teachers and NHS staff will all see their pay packets increase next year, Derek Mackay has said.
The finance secretary announced he will lift the one per cent public sector pay cap, and usher in a rise of at least three per cent for those earning up to £30,000.
The move will apply to around 260,000 full-time public sector workers in Scotland and ends four years of stagnating pay.
But local authority employees will not be included unless councils foot the bill – sparking claims the Government has “washed its hands” of 144,000 council workers.
READ MORE: Doctors argue £400m NHS funding increase in Scottish Budget 'simply not enough'
Mr Mackay said calls to end the UK-wide pay cap were “ignored” by Chancellor Philip Hammond, adding: “This limits how far we can go on pay – however, unlike other Governments across the UK, we committed to lifting the pay cap, and lift it we will.
“Today, I have published a progressive pay policy. I can confirm that we will deliver a guaranteed minimum pay increase of three per cent for all public sector workers earning £30,000 or less.”
Those earning above £30,000 will be limited to a two per cent increase, Mr Mackay said, while a cash cap of £1,600 will apply to those earning £80,000 or more.
He added: “Our decision to lift the pay cap will benefit thousands of nurses and other healthcare staff.
“I know I speak for everyone in the chamber when I thank our NHS staff for the work they do in caring for the people of Scotland.”
The move will initially affect 37,000 public sector workers across 44 public bodies – including prison officers and tourism officials – which fall under the control of Scottish ministers.
READ MORE: Doctors argue £400m NHS funding increase in Scottish Budget 'simply not enough'
But hundreds of thousands of nurses, police officers, firefighters and teachers are also expected to benefit as their pay is aligned with Government policy.
However, councils will have to fund the pay increase themselves if they are to mirror the move.
Scottish Labour finance spokesman James Kelly said this meant Mr Mackay was expecting councils “to deliver a real-terms pay rise when he is slashing their budgets”.
He added: “This is just smoke and mirrors from the SNP. Scotland needs real change, the kind only Scottish Labour can deliver.”
READ MORE: Doctors argue £400m NHS funding increase in Scottish Budget 'simply not enough'
Scottish conservative councillor Gail Macgregor, resources spokeswoman for Cosla – the national association of Scottish councils – said matching public sector pay would become an issue for local authorities if not fully funded.
She said: “There are serious financial challenges that lie ahead in several areas and there is no doubt that these will have an impact on the essential services that councils deliver.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel