TOO many struggling West Fife workers “need a pay rise” while bringing in the living wage will save NHS Fife millions of pounds.

That’s according to Dunfermline MSP Cara Hilton who said that 21.3 per cent of employed Fifers are paid less than the living wage – £7.85 per hour.

It’s classed as the amount an individual needs to earn to cover the basic costs of living and she said paying it would save NHS Fife up to £19m by 2034 in “prevented hospitalisations”.

Mrs Hilton said more pay would make Fifers healthier and wealthier and added, “Too many people in Dunfermline and across Fife need a pay rise.

“Too many families are one unexpected bill away from choosing between heating and eating.

"Meanwhile, our NHS is teetering on the verge of crisis, overstretched and underfunded.

“We can tackle both problems with the living wage. That is why I supported plans to extend it to more workers this year.

"I want to see it in jobs where it would really make a difference, like catering, retail and caring.” Mrs Hilton highlighted research from the Scottish Public Health Observatory which calculated that paying the living wage could save NHS Fife as much as £1.1m after two years and £18.7m after 20 years.

It said the money saved by all Scottish health boards in “prevented hospitalisations” would be more than £250m after two decades.

The Labour MSP added, “The evidence for delivering the living wage is now overwhelming.

“It makes moral sense, it makes business sense and now it is clear that it will save money for public services, like our NHS.” She said more than 400,000 people in Scotland were paid less than the living wage and concluded, “It is time to get serious about better pay for workers not only for the 21.3 per cent of people in Dunfermline and across Fife but the whole of Scotland.”