GMB welcomes withdrawal of ‘pay-cut proposals' for ambulance and NHS staff

9th February 2019

GMB Scotland yesterday Friday 8 February 2019 welcomed the withdrawal of planned reforms which would have resulted in cuts to terms and conditions of Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS staff.

Proposals by the NHS Scottish Terms and Conditions Committee (STAC) to the utilisation and application of Time Off In Lieu (TOIL) would have seen the value of accrued TOIL not taken automatically after three months devalued from time and half to plain time.

It would have resulted in pay cuts of over £200 for many frontline ambulance staff, who routinely accrue overruns in working time against the backdrop of increasing demands on the emergency service.

Earlier this week, GMB Scotland members in the ambulance services comprehensively rejected the reforms in a consultative ballot by 98.8 per cent, compelling STAC to withdraw the proposals following a meeting of trade union, NHS employers and Scottish Government representatives today.

GMB Scotland Organiser Karen Leonard said:"From the outset of negotiations over NHS pay last year, we warned about the prospect of cuts to terms and conditions of staff over the further reform elements contained in the deal.

"The proposals tabled for the reform of TOIL would have been the equivalent of the Scottish Government giving staff a pay increase with one hand while taking away with the other; that's not what hard-pressed ambulance and NHS staff signed-up for last year.

"The determination of our members in the ambulance service to protect their terms and conditions was evident in their massive rejection of the reforms - something that shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone who understands the pressures they are under.

"We are pleased that the employer-side and the Scottish Government recognised the fact this would be a bad deal for staff and that they have agreed to the immediate withdrawal of the proposals."