RCN members in Scotland are to be consulted on the latest pay offer from the Scottish Government, with a rejection of the pay offer leading directly to the announcement of strike dates.
The union will hold a consultation for members living in Scotland on Agenda for Change Contracts (AfC) between 5 and 19 December, in which they will be asked to accept or reject the new pay offer.
Julie Lamberth, chair of the RCN Scotland Board, said: ‘The Scottish Government has made three offers that are real-terms pay cuts for our members. They continually fail to recognise the clinical skill, expertise and leadership of registered nurses.
‘None of the offers made to date do enough to attract more people into nursing and to keep the skilled nurses we already have.’
However, Mrs Lamberth added that it was ‘right that our members have the opportunity to have their say on what the Scottish Government says is its ‘best and final’ offer’.
In the industrial action ballot run, which concluded in November before the latest pay offer, every NHS employer in Scotland hit the legal threshold for strike action.
This comes after Unison and the Royal College of Midwives also announced they were consulting members over the latest Scottish offer.