Nursing
unions want Scottish nurses to get a 20 per cent pay rise to bring them into
line with other public sector employees.
The
unions say increased health funding should be used to improve the wages of
nurses, midwives and health visitors.
Unison
and the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland say increased funding means the
health service can no longer use the excuse that it cannot afford to increase
staff salaries. They argue that poor pay is making it difficult to recruit and
retain staff.
Unison’s
lead officer for nursing in Scotland, Bridget Hunter, said: "Nurses,
midwives and health visitors are the life blood of the NHS and we cannot risk
losing more of these essential workers because of low pay."
