Union preparing for ‘next big battle’ over NHS pay, conference told

Workers taking industrial action to win better pay will not be “starved into submission”, the leader of Scotland’s largest trade union has said, as he told how it is preparing to  “battle” the Scottish Government to improve pay for NHS staff.

Pat Rafferty, the Scottish secretary of Unite, said that “one of the next big battles” the union was facing was “the fight to deliver a fair pay rise for NHS workers”.

The union is currently preparing to ballot health workers in Scotland on industrial action after the five per cent pay increase offered by Health Secretary Humza Yousaf was rejected.

Mr Rafferty, meanwhile, said Unite had now amassed the “the biggest strike fund in a generation”.

He added: “When our members take on employers they will not be starved into submission.”

Mr Rafferty, who was addressing Unite’s Scottish policy conference in Glasgow, told how thousands of union members across the country were currently in dispute with bosses of pay.

It comes amid the cost-of-living crisis and as the UK faces the “most challenging economic times for a generation”, Mr Rafferty said.

The Unite Scottish secretary said: “We are in the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, everyone is feeling the pinch.

“People can’t sleep at night, worrying about whether they can pay the bills as inflation and energy prices go through the roof. Parents wondering if they will be able to feed and clothe their kids. Pensioners trying to live off a miserly state pension that is nowhere near keeping pace with the cost of living.”

He insisted Unite was “giving our members every support we possibly can”.

He told the conference: “Every resource possible is being made available to support our members who are taking industrial action.”

University workers, Glasgow subway staff and workers at Marine Scotland are among those currently involved in disputes with their employers, Mr Rafferty said.

While he stressed that Unite had “delivered millions of pounds worth of rises across the public and private sector”, he added there was “much more to do”.

Mr Rafferty told the conference: “One of the next big battles we face is the fight to deliver a fair pay rise for NHS workers.

“By their thousands, our members have said they are prepared to take industrial action to get a better wage deal from the Scottish Government.

“Let me repeat, our NHS workers, and every worker, going into dispute with their employer will receive the full backing of this union.”