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Unison has been accused of creating division amongst NHS workers after it called off its strike ballot in Scotland.
It comes after the union announced it would temporarily call off the NHS strike ballot in Scotland following the devolved government’s increased pay offer of £2,205.
One Unison rep warned NursingNotes that the union’s actions will “pit NHS workers against another” and could “undermine” future pay talks by failing to have a “united front” – not only other unions but also between different pay bands of Unison members.
The “significantly improved” offer remains well below the rate of inflation and equates to just 6% for most nursing staff but a massive 11% for those in the lower bands.
The union’s positions also seems to be at odds with its stewards. A tweet from the Unison Scotland Ambulance Service account reads, “Yesterday afternoon, at an emergency stewards meeting, the decision was made – unanimously to reject the Scottish Government’s pay offer.”
The union will undertake a consultative digital ballot early next week.
Justifying the decision, Wilma Brown, chair of the health committee said: “After our meeting this afternoon UNISON has agreed to suspend its NHS strike ballot so we can consult NHS members over the Scottish government £2205 pay offer to all NHS staff.
“This is a final pay offer from the Scottish government, it is also significantly different from the previous offers, so we think it is right that NHS members decide whether they are willing to accept it.
Ms Brown continued, “UNISON is a member led union, so members will decide. NHS staff are working through two crises: an NHS crisis and a cost-of-living crisis.
“This offer will go some way to helping them with the latter but we have a huge amount of work to do to get our NHS to be world class again, irrespective of the outcome of this consultation the Scottish government need to see this as the beginning of a journey back to full health for the NHS”
© 2019 NursingNotes.co.uk
© 2019 NursingNotes.co.uk
