Double-figure pay boost for scientists

Thousands of lab workers will benefit

NHS laboratory scientists are to receive inflation-busting pay rises - with some getting as much as 20%.

The rise is part of a £250m investment the government is making in pay for non-clinical NHS workers.

The news has been welcomed by their union, which had warned how serious staff shortages were threatening key areas such as cancer diagnosis in hospitals.

I have had one e-mail every minute from people asking me whether it's a misprint

MSF spokesman

Pathology workers currently earn as little as £9,500 a year - even the best paid laboratory scientists get only a little more.

From April, 6,000 are to see this figure boosted by at least 7%, with the lowest paid getting much more.

Most have a full science degree from university, yet their wages have fallen further behind those of doctors and nurses.

During the last government, they were excluded from the pay review body, the system which recommends annual salary rises.

A spokesman for the Manufacturing, Science and Finance Union (MSF), which represents laboratory scientists in the health service, said that members had been "overwhelmed and surprised" by the pay deal.

He said: "I have had one e-mail every minute from people asking me whether it's a misprint.

"This is great news, which finally recognises the importance of these staff to the NHS, and shows the government's commitment to putting right the low pay culture left over from previous years."

The biggest increases will fall to currently lower-paid scientists who live in the south-east of England, as, with London weighting, the rise could top 20%.

A survey taken by MSF last year found a 20% shortfall in the key laboratory staff being rewarded this week.

This amounted, it was claimed, to more than 2,000 missing staff, and was leading to delays in completing test results for patients suffering from cancer and other diseases.