Frontline NHS workers across Scotland are to be given a pay rise.
UNISON union met with health secretary Jeane Freeman on Tuesday to repeat calls for the reopening of the present three-year pay deal and to agree a fair pay rise for workers this year.
In July, the UK Government announced a pay increase for workers in several public sector roles including teachers, doctors and dentists, however nurses and other healthcare workers were snubbed in talks.
Now, those staff have claimed victory after the "positive" meeting, with the union hoping to "move forward quickly".
Tom Waterson, chair of UNISON Scotland's health committee, said: “We’re pleased the health secretary has listened to our members and has recognised the need for them to be paid fairly for the essential work they do.
"The applause and kind words shown during the difficult days of the pandemic were a huge source of comfort to NHS staff, but it’s only right that the government now shows its appreciation in a different way.
“Our NHS staff are just ordinary people who have been thrust into an extraordinary situation. Proper recognition and pay to match it is the least the government can do to show they value the hard work and dedication of our NHS workers, not just during the pandemic but each and every day.”
READ MORE: NHS Glasgow staff subjected to more than 2000 violent incidents since lockdown began
Willie Duffy, UNISON Scotland’s head of health, said: “Since the start of this pandemic, our NHS workers have shown immense dedication, commitment and compassion and it is time they are fairly rewarded.
“We’re pleased the health secretary has agreed to reopen the present three-year pay deal and reward our NHS staff with a pay rise this year. We hope to move forward quickly to ensure we get pay into the pockets of our hard-working, dedicated NHS workers.”
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 here