By Marjory Inglis, health reporter

OVER 1000 NHS Tayside bank staff are still waiting to find out their new wages and salary grades and get back pay overdue since October 2004.

The bank staff, who step in to cover for absent nurses and clerical workers, are only now being assessed under the Agenda for Change process that covers every health worker across Scotland who is not a doctor or very senior manager.

The figure was revealed in a parliamentary answer published on the same day that NHS Tayside’s workforce director Alex Killick was coy with colleagues about the numbers still awaiting a resolution.

Speaking at yesterday’s meeting of NHS Tayside’s strategic policy and resources committee in King’s Cross Hospital, Dundee, Mr Killick was mindful of the history of the Agenda For Change process in Tayside that has disappointed many staff promised their back-pay would be calculated and paid in time for Christmases past.

The health authority has concentrated on processing the 14,500 staff employed in what it calls “substantive” posts, that is people who have regular employment with full-time or part-time jobs in the health service.

Mr Killick said 61 people in substantive posts still had to be assimilated on to the new pay grades and get their arrears but the process for substantive staff was “materially complete.”

The workforce director said progress was being made on bank staff and “leavers”, those staff who have retired or moved on to another job outwith NHS Tayside. He said only that “a number” were “already through” and “a number” were still being “progressed” but he did not give exact figures.

“Numbers get bandied about, expectations get raised and dashed,” said Mr Killick, apparently referring to promises to pay arrears to substantive staff in previous Christmas pay packets which were not met.

He explained his “anxiety” around giving a timescale for processing outstanding claims.

“We are working to try to increase capacity around pay roll (recruiting extra staff to that department),” said Mr Killick.

“Until we know that is a possibility it is difficult to give an honest and confident projection in terms of when the whole exercise will be complete.”

Meanwhile Labour MSP Dr Richard Simpson got an answer to his parliamentary question on how many employees were awaiting resolution for the Agenda For Change pay rates.

Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon’s answer, posted on the parliamentary website yesterday, included figures for Tayside and Fife, showing 180 bank staff in Fife still had to get their new grades and arrears, while 1022 bank staff were in the same position in Tayside. The question related to “employees” and no figures were given for retired staff or other leavers involved in the process.