SCOTLAND'S largest NHS union is urging its members to accept the Scottish Government's four per cent pay offer or prepare for "sustained and substantial" industrial action.
The trade union Unison is to ballot its members this week on the offer put forward by Nicola Sturgeon earlier this year.
It is the only trade union formally advising its members to accept the modest pay rise, with the Royal College of Nursing and GMB recommending a rejection.
Unite said it was not giving its members a recommendation on how to proceed.
On the final day of the Scottish Parliament, March 24, the First Minister announced that 154,000 NHS Scotland staff would be offered 4% pay rise.
It applies to staff in pay bands five to seven, with other staff receiving either a flat payment or a smaller percentage increase, backdated to December.
Those who will get the four percent, if it is accepted, include nurses, paramedics, porters and domestic staff.
READ MORE: Pay offer revealed for NHS staff in Scotland
The Scottish Government's announcement came two weeks after Boris Johnson announced NHS staff in England were to be offered a 1% rise, prompting mass criticism from unions, opposition parties and members of his own party.
The Prime Minister said it was all the government could afford, however the day after the Scottish Government plans were unveiled, he hinted that ministers were looking at increasing the offer for nursing staff. Details of any changes to the 1% offer have yet to be announced.
Unison officials told The Herald on Sunday that they would encourage their members to support the Scottish Government's offer, and did not believe anything better was achievable.
This is in contrast to the RCN, which wants to campaign for a 12.5% rise, and GMB, which said the offer was a"pre-election punt", arguing that NHS staff have faced a decade of cuts and have a real-terms pay cut of around 14%.
READ MORE: NHS pay rise branded 'pre-election punt' by union
Unison's argument is that any new negotiation could not take place until after the May 6 elections, at which point a new government would not be under political pressure from the polls to increase the offer.
Tom Waterson, chairman of the Unison Scotland's health committee, warned that if the offer is rejected members will have to prepare for "sustained and substantial" industrial action, which could cause havoc as the country tries to get a grip on the coronavirus pandemic.
Tom Waterson, Unison Scotland
He explained: "NHS workers are literally exhausted fighting a pandemic. Their contribution should be recognised in their pay packets and this pay increase, along with the recent £500 bonus, goes some way to doing this.
"The last thing they need is a long industrial campaign to bring a new government back to the table after the election.
"We should accept the offer and concentrate on future negotiations to build an NHS ready to fight the next health crisis. But in the end it is entirely our members' decision.”
He added that union negotiators had a responsibility to give their members "an informed choice" on what they were voting on, and added: "If members reject this offer they need to be ready to take sustained and substantial industrial action.
"We have taken soundings over the past few weeks.
"Although there is anger about the underfunding of health services and real terms pay decreases over the past decade, we think NHS staff would prefer to accept this offer and move on."
Willy Duffy
Willie Duffy the union's head of health said the offer from the government was "the largest pay rise we have seen for years" and the "best offer that can be achieved through negotiation".
He added: "We are launching our NHS ballot on 15 April until 7 May - and we will be recommending members accept this pay offer.
"If we reject the offer it will be up to the next government and, amongst other things, they will not have the pressure of an upcoming election to concentrate their minds.
"Unison campaigned hard to bring the government back to the table to win a serious and substantial pay rise for health workers.
"Our position has been realistic throughout, and we have not got everything we want but you never do through negotiation. In the end it’s a judgement we all have to take.
"We have been offered a flat rate, we have got a deal backdated to December and 4% for most work force and above 5% for lower paid is the largest pay rise than we have seen in the public sector for years.”
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