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How much do nurses earn? As NHS workers in Tayside and Fife vote to strike we ask if you think pay offer was fair

Nurses have balloted for strike. Image: Shutterstock.
Nurses have balloted for strike. Image: Shutterstock.

Nurses in Tayside and Fife have voted to strike over pay, saying rates haven’t kept up with rising living costs. But what do you think is a fair wage for a nurse?

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) board announced this week they had formally rejected a revised pay offer – which averages around 7%.

It’s thought nurses will go on strike before the end of the year.

And it’s the first statutory ballot on industrial action across the UK in the 106-year history of the RCN.

In light of this week’s news, we reveal how much nurses and health care workers are paid in each band.

Take our poll below: Do you think the pay offer should have been rejected or not?

Nurses from RCN have voted to strike. Image: Shutterstock.

Industrial action for RCN members is expected to begin before the end of this year.

Unite tell us their members rejected the new offer and have delivered a mandate for industrial action across numerous boards, including Tayside and Fife.

And Unison say their ballot on the new offer closes on November 14 and they’ll announce the result of it straight away.

How much do nurses earn – and what was the pay offer?

NHS staff were offered what the Scottish Government said was “a record pay rise” at the end of October.

The offer was for £2,205 for every NHS worker. That followed a previous offer of 5%.

Nursing unions say NHS pay has not kept up with rising living costs. Image: Shutterstock.

The new offer works out as an average 7% pay rise.

The offer represented a pay increase of 11.32% for the lowest band, decreasing to 2% for the highest.

After the announcement, Unison Fife Health Branch explained how this would affect wages across the different NHS pay bands.

For example, cleaners are on band one, porters on band two, medical secretaries are on band three and pharmacy technicians band four.

What did the pay offer mean for NHS workers? Image: DC Thomson.

A newly qualified nurse is on the NHS pay band five.

Roles above band six will require increasingly specialised skills and qualifications.

‘Pay rise represents pay cut’

The Scottish Government called it “the largest pay offer given to NHS Scotland Agenda for Change staff since devolution and will mean they remain the best paid in the UK”.

But RCN say it represents a real time pay cut and their members have said “enough is enough”.

Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf. Image: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire.

Given the rising cost of living, including heating and fuel costs, we’re asking you if you agree with the nurses’ decision?

Would you have taken the pay offer, which the government said would be in pay packets in time for Christmas?

Or would you have rejected it as the nurses voted to do this week?

Have your say in our poll:

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