Enough is enough: Nurses rally for fair pay after waiting years for decision on grades

District nurses rallied outside the HQ of Scotland's biggest health board today amid escalating anger over pay and grades.

The demo came days after the nurses voiced overwhelming support for industrial action over long-delayed job evaluations.

The nurses, members of GMB Scotland and other unions, gathered outside the HQ of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde as the board met inside.

The nurses are currently on Band 6 of the Agenda for Change pay scale but believe their skills, expertise and responsibilities justify a higher grade.

The unions have lodged a formal grievance with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde claiming the long delays to the job evaluation process, which started in 2022, cannot be justified.

A consultative ballot of GMB Scotland members last week revealed 100% support for industrial action if there is no swift resolution.

At the rally, Kaylee Stainton, a district charge nurse and GMB Scotland member, said the delays have been unacceptable and have left her colleagues demoralised and dismayed.

She said: "We have been waiting for years for this process to be completed fairly but been fobbed off with one excuse after another.

"There is no good reason for these delays which have added a huge amount of stress and uncertainty to what is an already challenging role.

"We are not looking for special treatment only to be treated with the respect we deserve and for our work to be properly recognised and fairly rewarded."

Karen Leonard, GMB organiser in NHS Scotland, said the rally at the Gartnavel campus revealed the frustration of nurses and warned only new urgency could avert industrial action.

She said: “Our members fully engaged with the process of job evaluation in good faith but that faith has not been justified.

“Their skills, qualifications and responsibilities have increased over the last decade to meet the complex needs of patients now living in our communities and they only want their changing role to be properly recognised and fairly rewarded.

“This process has dragged on for year after year when consensus on the way forward has been reached on a number of occasions only for the goalposts to be moved.

“After so many false starts and needless delays, the nurses’ patience has been stretched to breaking point.

“They only want to nurse but are being driven towards industrial action by a needlessly protracted process that has left them demoralised but determined to resolve this issue.”