Although your workplace reps have made clear their concerns about the terms proposed, they have also agreed that our union should consult our NHS and SAS membership on this offer and suspend strikes scheduled in SAS for this Monday 28 November as a result.

The offer remains below inflation for the vast majority of staff, but we believe it requires your consultation in light of the additional monies tabled by the government across Agenda for Change Bands 5, 6, 7 & 8A.

Through engagement with your reps and fellow members across your services during the forthcoming consultation period, you will ultimately decide whether these latest proposals merit acceptance or rejection.

Dates for your consultative ballot will be confirmed shortly, but it is vital that everyone understands the suspension of strikes does not affect statutory mandates for action that have already been secured by GMB members.

The law protects your strike mandate for a period of six months from the day your strike ballot closed (Monday 31 October). That means if your service or Health Board rejects this offer, but has already secured a strike mandate, you do not need to be re-balloted for action. 

Services and Health Board areas where members have secured strike action mandates can be found in the previous media release that coincided with our strike ballot results in earlier this month: https://www.gmbscotland.org.uk/newsroom/nhs-scotland-sas-strike-ballot-result

We will conduct this consultative ballot in the workplace where possible and then also electronically where necessary, so please ensure your contact details, particularly mobiles, are fully consented and up to date. You can do this now at: www.gmb.org.uk/mygmb