STEPHEN Flynn has called on Rishi Sunak to follow the Scottish Government's lead and negotiate with striking workers.
Health unions in Scotland have called off nurses' strikes after ministers engaged with Unite and Unison bosses and reached a pay settlement. The Royal College of Nursing and Royal College of Midwives are still consulting their members.
With England still facing wide-scale industrial action this week, Flynn took the Prime Minister to task and criticised the UK Health Secretary's apparent unwillingness to bend when it comes to pay.
He asked Sunak when he will see "the error of his ways" and follow the example of the Scottish Government.
During PMQs, Flynn said: "Thanks to positive and proactive negotiations between the Scottish Government and Unite and Unison health unions, a pay settlement has been reached and strike action averted.
"By stark contrast, the UK Health Secretary seems unwilling to negotiate with unions on pay, and strike action is very much still on the table.
"May I ask the Prime Minister when will he see the error of his ways and follow the Scottish Government lead?"
Sunak responded by suggesting part of the reason why Scottish ministers had been able to negotiate a deal was because of £1.5 billion of extra funding provided by the UK Government.
The PM said: "I’m glad the UK Government was able to provide £1.5bn in extra funding to the Scottish Government for public services. The Health Secretary has engaged fully not just with the unions but with an independent pay setting process which takes the politics out of the process and ensures we can meet those independent requirements with a fair pay deal."
On Sunday, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen said positive talks with Nicola Sturgeon showed how nurses were "not for digging in" when it comes to pay negotiations.
She detailed how discussions were held with the First Minister and within 24 hours industrial action had been paused.
Mick Lynch, the chief executive of the Rail, Maritime, and Transport Union (RMT), also said "Scottish nationalist MPs" were "closer to our position" than Labour leader Keir Starmer was on Wednesday.
During the PMQs exchange, Flynn hit back at Sunak and said: "Those words will ring hollow in the ears of those people who unlike the Prime Minister cannot go to Waitrose or turn on their heating at this moment in time, and that’s particularly true for people in Scotland.
"Energy bills are expected to be £3300 per year.
"People are genuinely terrified and that’s despite the fact Scotland produces six times more gas than we consume with some 80% of our electricity coming from low carbon sources.
"Decades of failed UK energy and regulatory policy coming home to roost. Is it not the case Scotland has the energy we just need the power?"
Sunak said: "It’s because of the actions of this Government that we are providing every household in this country with around £900 of support for their energy bills this winter.
"On top of that next year, there will be extra cost of living payments worth up to £1200 for the most vulnerable. This is a government that will always look after the most vulnerable in our society."
