Commenting on a small rise in pay for NHS staff in Scotland due to an inflation guarantee built into their latest pay deal, UNISON Scotland co-lead for health Matt McLaughlin said:
“Health staff won’t exactly be dancing in the streets with this very modest increase, but it does show how workers, employers and the government can work together to agree fair pay policies.
“Last year’s agreement means NHS pay is better able to adapt to cost-of-living pressures. However there’s still a long way to go the recover from years of below inflation pay awards.”
Notes to editors:
– UNISON is the largest health union, representing over 60,000 NHS staff in Scotland including nurses, midwives, call handlers, paramedics, administrators, allied professional staff, caterers, porters and facilities staff.
– The pay agreement for all Agenda for Change staff in Scotland finalised last year meant they were due a 4.25% increase in pay in 2025-26 and a 3.75% increase in pay in 2026-27. The settlement agreed with unions also contained a guarantee that pay will also be at least 1% above the average inflation for the year. This means all Agenda for Change staff are due an extra 0.15% in their February pay.