Thousands of NHS workers vote to strike

Sean Robertson ,GMB rep (personal capacity) 

Thousands of NHS workers in Scotland have voted to take strike action over pay. The GMB union secured majorities for action including in the Scottish Ambulance Service, the Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lothian and Lanarkshire heath board areas.

It comes in the wake of months of protracted negotiations with the Scottish government which have led to all the major unions holding industrial action ballots. NHS workers in Scotland have been offered a flat cash offer of £2205 for all bands. 

While many workers between band 1 and band 4, paid between £19,600 and £26,000, may at first glance see this as a substantial increase and want to vote to accept it in consultative ballots, for bands 5 and above it is as best a rise of 8.45% well below the rate of inflation, either by the RPI measure (12%) or by the lower measure of CPI preferred by the government (10%). 

For band 7, which includes many nurses, midwifes, clinicians, scientists and paramedics, it is either only slightly above (or even below for those at the top of band seven) the 5% already rejected overwhelmingly by NHS staff in August! 

The headline average rise quoted in the press is 7%. Again, well below inflation. While the offer will go out to union members for consultative ballots, it is clearly an offer designed to sow division throughout the workforce. 

It has the advantage for the Scottish government of giving the appearance of helping the lowest paid in the service deal with the cost-of-living crisis, but will infuriate frontline nursing staff and paramedics, who, like all NHS staff, have endured over a decade of real terms pay cuts, now amounting to over 20%. 

It is also well below the pay claim submitted by unions of a rise higher than RPI inflation. 

unions 

Unison have suspended their strike ballot and put the offer to members with no recommendation. Unite have rejected it, as has the GMB. RCN Scotland lambasted the offer. 

RCN Scotland Director Colin Poolman said: “Yet again the Scottish Government has failed to listen to our members concerns for the safety of their patients. 

“Under this proposal, regis- tered nurses continue to face a significant real terms pay cut. This is even more stark with the news that inflation reached a 40 year high. 

“Many are making difficult decisions about how to heat their homes, feed their families and travel to work while carrying the burden of being unable to do the best for their patients due to severe staff shortages.” 

More than 88% of midwives and maternity support workers in Scotland who are part of the Royal College of Midwives voted to strike in a turnout of 61%. 

long fight on pay 

Unions and union members have fought long and hard for a better pay rise. 

It is only due to that determination that workers have forced the government from an initial position of offering a derisory 2%, then 5% and now to the point where some workers are expected to get over 10%. Workers’ unity has been demonstrably effective. Let’s continue the fight and oppose the Scottish Government’s divide and rule tactics. 

Let’s fight for a real terms pay increase for all frontline NHS staff.