NHS staff across Scotland are 'angry' that talks on pay will not be reopened as a poll finds the vast majority are tired and exhausted after work.
A survey carried out by trade union Unison found 87% of staff think the health service should consider a further pay award this year, with 72% saying they are exhausted after their shifts.
It also shows 80% say they are tired or very tired, and 30% of staff feel they are not getting adequate breaks.
READ MORE: Matt Hancock refuses to promise a pay rise for nurses
The union is calling on health secretary Jeane Freeman to reopen talks on the pay deal for this year, particularly to accommodate extra costs such as added childcare, travel and clothes-washing fees.
Willie Duffy, Unison Scotland’s head of health, said: “Our survey shows the strength of feeling.
“NHS staff across Scotland are angry that Cabinet Secretary for Health Jeane Freeman has not agreed to reopen talks on NHS pay for 2020/21.
“We all welcomed our health secretary and First Minister clapping for our ‘brilliant NHS workers’.
“But it’s disappointing that the thanks appears to end at a round of applause, after Ms Freeman has not agreed to reopen talks on pay.
“This is after health workers received one of the lowest public sector pay awards in the country and staff have many extra costs to deal with.
“We hoped for better from the Scottish Government.”
More than 7000 took part in the poll in just 24 hours.
NHS workers described having to buy their own PPE, facing extra costs with public transport shutting, as well as the increase in bills due to more laundry being done.
One told the trade union “clapping and banging pots and pans don’t pay bills”.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “The Covid-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on those working in our NHS, and we are hugely grateful for the extraordinary hard work, dedication, skill and commitment of all those working across Scotland’s health and social care sectors during this emergency.
READ MORE: Letters: NHS workers deserve a decent salary and better protection
“We’re committed to the fairest possible salary settlements for all staff, and have regular engagement with staff and unions, where all issues related to NHS staff terms and conditions can be discussed.
“During one of these recent meetings the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport confirmed with Unison officials that she has committed to working in partnership with trade unions to ensure the fairest possible deal is in place for the staff of NHS Scotland.
“We continue to take steps to support NHS staff at this time including by ensuring they have full access to enhanced overtime pay and that all staff working for NHS Scotland who are sick due to Covid-19, irrespective of their length of service, will receive sick leave on full pay until they have recovered from their illness for as long as they are contracted to NHS Scotland.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel