UNISON members working for the NHS in Scotland have voted by 94% in favour of a new three-year pay deal worth at least 9% over 2018, 2019 and 2020.
The vote comes after a four-week, online ballot that gave 60,000 NHS workers the chance to have their say.
“Today, I am pleased to announce that 94% of UNISON members have voted to accept a pay deal which will put an additional £400m into NHS workers’ pay packets in Scotland,” announced UNISON Scotland health committee chair Thomas Waterson after the votes were counted.
“This deal delivers real increases of between 3% and 27% for NHS workers in Scotland.”
UNISON Scotland head of health Matt McLaughlin described the vote as “a good result for UNISON members and I am happy that across Scotland we reached out to and engaged with the vast majority of our members.
“Their decision is a ringing endorsement of the offer.”
The deal, negotiated with the Scottish government following the pay deal for NHS England workers, means:
- all NHS Scotland staff earning less than £80,000 will receive a 3% pay increase this year backdated to April 1, with a payment of £1,600 for staff earning more than £80,000;
- the top of all pay scales will rise by 9% over the lifetime of the three-year deal (including 2018) or by £1,600 a year for scales above £80,000;
- larger increments and faster progression for staff not yet at the top of their pay band – worth between 11.3% and 27.7%;
- the removal of overlaps between pay bands, to ensure promotion comes with a proper pay rise, decreasing the risk of equal pay challenges;
- big improvements in starting salaries to help the NHS attract and retain new staff.
The deal applies to all NHS contractor staff, as well as those directly employed by NHS Scotland.