SNP Candidate for the Greenock and Inverclyde constituency, Stuart McMillan, has today welcomed the 4% pay rise offered to NHS Scotland Agenda for Change staff.
After positive discussions over recent weeks with NHS Trade Unions and NHS Employers, the Scottish Government has offered a substantial pay rise.
If accepted by staff, this deal will be most generous National Health Service pay uplift anywhere in the UK, and would represent the biggest single year increase in pay for NHS staff since devolution. The pay rises will benefit 154,000 NHS Agenda for Change employees – including nurses, paramedics, allied health professionals, as well as domestic, healthcare support staff, porters and other front line health workers.
The pay rise would ensure that staff on the pay bands 1 to 7 would receive at least a 4% pay rise compared to 2020/21, with the staff who earned less than £25,000 in 2020/21 getting a guaranteed minimum increase of over £1,000 in 2021/22. This means that staff on the lowest Agenda for Change pay point would get a 5.4% increase. Those on the highest pay points will receive uplifts of £800.
While pay increases are usually effective from 1 April, the 2021/22 pay settlement will be backdated to 1 December 2020 in recognition of an exceptional year of significant pressure for staff. This follows the £500 thank you payment for health and social care workers.
Commenting, Stuart said:
“Nurses, paramedics, allied health professionals, as well as domestic, healthcare support staff, porters and other front line health workers have been at the forefront of our efforts to tackle this virus. They have been working day in day out, providing care for our friends and loved ones in the most difficult circumstances that they will have ever faced.
“Over 154,000 staff would benefit from this rise, which would see the average pay of a frontline NHS Nurse rise by over £1,200 a year. This deal also includes support staff such as domestic staff, porters and health care support workers, the backbone of our services, who would see pay rises of over £1,000 – uplifts of between 4% – 5.4%. The uplift will be backdated from 1 December 2020, rather than the usual 1 April 2021, meaning all those covered by the deal will receive an extra benefit.
“I believe this pay offer shows the SNP’s commitment to our NHS, ensuring our staff continue to be the highest paid anywhere in the UK. This is in comparison to the UK Government’s submission to the NHS Pay Review body which provided for a £250 uplift for staff earning less than £24,000 and 1% for all other NHS Agenda for Change staff.
“On top of the £500 payment made to all health and social care staff earlier this year, in challenging economic times, our SNP Scottish Government are making a point of ensuring frontline NHS staff are recognised for their service and dedication.”
Stuart McMillan MSP 