Some NHS Scotland staff could get 19pc pay rise over two years in bid to end strikes

Lizzie Roberts
Fri, 17 February 2023

NHS nurses stage a protest outside Glasgow Royal Infirmary last summer to call for a better pay deal - Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Some NHS staff in Scotland could receive a 19 per cent pay rise over two years after the Scottish government put forward a new offer to end strike action.

Around 160,000 health service staff in Scotland, including nurses, midwives, and paramedics, will be offered an average 6.5 per cent pay increase in 2023/24. The £568 million package offered by the Scottish government is the largest in NHS history, and will also include a one-off payment of between £387 and £939.

When combined with the 2022/23 pay offer, some staff, such as experienced hospital porters, could receive a 19.1 per cent pay increase over two years. Experienced paramedics and nurses could receive 13.2 per cent and 12.4 per cent respectively.


The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and other health unions are now considering the offer. Strike action in Scotland was paused by the RCN while negotiations with the Scottish government took place.

Humza Yousaf, the Scottish health secretary, said the new offer meant NHS staff in Scotland are “far and away the best paid anywhere in the UK”.

It comes after the RCN announced a significant escalation of its strike action in England on Thursday after the UK Government refused to negotiate on pay. The latest action will include 120 NHS employers, with staff walking out for 48 hours from March 1.

Separately, thousands more ambulance workers in England have voted to strike in the long-running dispute over pay and staffing. Announcing re-ballot results, the Unison union said staff at another four English ambulance services and five NHS organisations including NHS Blood and Transplant would now be able to strike in a “significant escalation” of the dispute.

The 12,000 staff involved in the re-ballots can now take part in strike action alongside their NHS colleagues at ambulance services in London, Yorkshire, the North East, the North West and the South West.

The GMB also announced on Friday that its ambulance members in Wales had rejected an offer from the Welsh government that saw an extra three per cent added to the existing deal. Around 1,500 workers will now join a strike on Monday by almost 10,000 other GMB members across England.

Nathan Holman, the GMB Welsh official, said: “We thank the Welsh government for actually entering talks – but if this is their final offer, it’s too low for our members.”

When the offer was put forward by the Welsh government earlier this month, Eluned Morgan, the health minister, said it was “the maximum we can afford to make”.

The RCN in England previously demanded a 19 per cent pay increase for nurses, but in recent weeks softened its stance and indicated that it would be prepared to meet the government “half way”.

Commenting on the escalation of action in England, Christina McAnea, the Unison general secretary, said: “It’s time the Prime Minister ditched his do nothing strategy for dealing with escalating strikes across the NHS.

“Governments in other parts of the UK know what it takes to resolve disputes. Ministers in Scotland and Wales are talking to health unions and acting to boost pay for NHS staff this year, and Holyrood is really showing Westminster up.

“Sadly, health workers across England have been met with a wall of silence from Number 10. The Prime Minister stubbornly refuses to talk about pay, preferring to subject everyone to many months of disruption.”