NHS physio staff in Scotland vote in favour of strike action following record pay offer

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) has revealed that NHS physiotherapy staff in Scotland have voted in favour of strike action in their first-ever ballot on pay.

It follows a record pay offer from the Scottish Government for all NHS staff.

NHS workers in Scotland have been offered a flat-rate £2,205 pay rise – an average uplift of seven percent – to help tackle the cost-of-living crisis and retain staff during the tougher winter months. It is the largest pay offer given to NHS Scotland Agenda for Change staff since devolution.

However, the CSP reacted angrily to the pay offer. It highlighted that while the pay rise is better for lower paid staff within the NHS, employees in the top bands would receive less of a pay rise than the previous offer that was rejected of a five percent increase.

It cautioned that the lower pay increase for highly experienced and skilled staff could push people into retirement at a time when there is already a workforce “crisis”.

The society further warned that inflation is running at 10 percent, whereas the average pay rise is seven percent with the NHS Scotland pay offer.

In response to the pay proposal, CSP’s national ballot, which ran from 4-31 October, saw members ballot nationally over pay for the first time in the society’s history.

Four out of five cast votes were in favour of strike action and 90 percent in favour of other industrial action short of a strike (ASOS). The national turnout for the ballot was 63 percent.

Following the postal ballot, the CSP now has a six-month mandate for industrial action within those employers that passed the legal thresholds, which are outlined in this story.

CSP’s elected member pay group met on 31 October and determined the membership should decide its approach. It will now seek views on the latest pay offer.

Soon, CSP will run a digital consultation. This means it will currently not be calling members to take industrial action but will keep this under review during and following the consultation.

The society added that it will continue to work in collaboration with other health unions, many of which are also beginning consultation processes.

Alex MacKenzie, Chair of CSP council, said: “These results are a clear reflection of the anger and disillusionment felt by our members working in the NHS in Scotland.

“We are working under extreme pressure, caused in no small part by a workforce crisis that threatens to be exacerbated by a pay offer so far below inflation.

“It’s incredible that instead of responding to those pressures with a constructive offer, the Scottish government came out last week with a new offer that not only still falls far short of our claim but also leaves some staff significantly worse off than under the original offer.

“That this was our first ever ballot on pay demonstrates how reluctantly we pursue this path, but we feel we have no choice in the face of an offer that will cause such damage to living standards and our ability to recruit and retain staff.

“This was a vote to protect the quality of care the NHS can offer to patients and we strongly urge the Scottish Government to return to the table with a fair offer for all.”

The CSP’s Scottish pay vote was run on a disaggregated basis, with each employer counted as a separate ballot.

In order for industrial action to be lawful, two thresholds must be met:

• At least 50 percent of those eligible to vote must do so
• Those voting in favour of industrial action must amount to at least 40 percent of all those eligible to vote
• These thresholds are additional to the requirement that more than half of cast votes must be in favour of industrial action

16 of the 18 of employers balloted returned a ‘yes’ vote for strike action and cleared both these additional thresholds, imposed by the 2016 Trade Union Act.

17 of the 18 employers balloted returned a ‘yes’ vote for action short of a strike (ASOS) and cleared both additional thresholds.

In total, 2,454 of the CSP’s 2,762 members in-scope of its ballot work for an employer where it now has a legal mandate to pursue strike action. 2,755 CSP members work for an employer where it has a mandate for action short of a strike.