Nurses in Lanarkshire are set to strike after voting down the latest pay offer for NHS workers.
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland members rejected an average increase of 7.5 per cent. The union said it was planning for industrial action and would announce dates early next year.
The strikes are likely to severely impact all of Lanarkshire's three acute hospitals - Wishaw, Monklands and Hairmyres.
Royal College of Midwives (RCM) members also rejected the pay deal.
The Scottish Government previously said this was the “best and final” offer to staff and no more money was available.
In the RCN ballot that closed on Monday, 82 per cent voted against the offer.
The union, which has more than 30,000 NHS members in Scotland, had asked for an increase of at least five per cent above inflation - which is currently 10.7 per cent.
Julie Lamberth, RCN Scotland board chair, said: “Make no mistake - we do not want to go on strike. Years of being undervalued and understaffed have left us feeling we have been left with no option because enough is enough.
“The ball is in the Scottish Government’s court if strike action is going to be avoided.”
Annual salary rises under the proposal would range from a flat rate payment of £2,205 for staff in Bands 1 to 4 and up to £2,660 for staff in Bands 5 to 7, backdated to April.
Unite and Unison chose to accept the deal, however, the GMB union became the first to reject it last week.
The deal was also rejected by 65 per cent of midwives who voted in the RCM ballot. The union, which has about 3,000 members in Scotland, said it was considering industrial action.
The Scottish Government said previously that the pay offer was unprecedented at a time of “extraordinary financial challenges” and would ensure NHS workers in Scotland remain the best paid in the UK.
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