Greens hail pay rise for social care staff
Scottish Greens have hailed a pay rise for social care staff as part of £300m measures to support health and care staff announced by the Scottish Government.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has announced that social care pay will rise above the Living Wage to match NHS band 2 staff, a key part of the cooperation deal between the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Government.
Commenting, Scottish Greens health spokesperson Gillian Mackay said:
“The Scottish Greens cooperation deal with the Scottish Government included Fair Work progress for the social care workforce as a priority, so I am pleased to see swift action to ensure they get more than the Living Wage. This shows we are working for Scotland.
“We’ve championed higher pay in the sector, because these workers have been the front line of the pandemic and deserved to be valued. Today’s announcement is an important first step towards giving care work parity with those who work in the NHS and provides a new baseline for future pay negotiations.
“The additional measures to recruit more staff into the NHS will also be an important part of easing the enormous pressure on existing staff, to support multi-disciplinary working and to address backlogs.”