Humza Yousaf: UK Government must ‘stop messing around’ over nurses’ strike

Scotland’s Health Secretary has urged his counterpart in the UK Government to “stop messing around” and get round the table with unions in a bid to avert nurses’ strikes which he fears will put the public “in harm’s way”.

Humza Yousaf spoke out after making a record pay offer to NHS workers in Scotland, saying he was “certainly hopeful” this would prevent strikes from taking place in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is making £568 million available for a pay rise for NHS workers in 2023-24, as part of an offer which would give nurses, midwives, paramedics, allied health professionals, porters and others an average 6.5% rise.

That comes on top of a 7.5% increase for health workers in Scotland in this current financial year.

Mr Yousaf, speaking after chatting to workers at the New Victoria Hospital in Glasgow, said that “taken over two years that is over £1 billion of investment in pay for NHS staff”.

While the deal on offer is still a real terms pay cut, the Health Secretary said ministers could simply not afford to offer an above inflation pay rise.

He said: “If we could have paid our health trade unions 10%, 11%, 12% in a single year we would have done that, if I could have afforded to do so.

“I think the majority of trade unions understood that and that is why the majority accepted the pay deal for 2022-23.”

The Scottish Government has now “put our best offer on the table” for the coming year, he added, saying it was up to trade unions.

The unions Unison, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland, and the Royal College of Midwives; will all now consult their members on whether the offer should be accepted.

But it comes as the leader of the RCN in England warned that upcoming strike action there will have a “significant impact” on the NHS.

Walkouts have been announced at more than 120 NHS employers in England in a significant escalation of the row over pay and staffing there, with the next action set to to see nurses out on strike for 48 hours continuously from 6am on March 1.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said she had not spoken to UK Health Secretary Steve Barclay for more than a month, complaining there had been “no communication” with him.

Mr Yousaf said his counterpart in England should “get round the table and deal with some meaningful negotiation and dialogue”.

He told the Westminster Government: “Don’t invite trade unions in and insult them by just having cups of tea and biscuits, actually have proper meaningful dialogue, listen to them around the pay demands that they have got, and they will meet you half way, that has been my experience.”

He added: “They should really stop messing around, frankly, because it is not just messing around with our trade unions, but it is putting, I think, the public in to these parts of the country in harm’s way as well.

“So, I would certainly suggest to the UK Government that they treat trade unions with respect, in the way that we have up here, and averted strike action.”