Hundreds of front-line care staff are still waiting for their Scottish Government promised £500 bonus - six months after it was first announced.
A GMB union survey has revealed a staggering 40 per cent of their members in the sector have still not been paid - with some workers told they may have to wait until July for payment.
And 68 per cent of those who have not been paid said they would be willing to take action - up to strike action - to get their cash.
The majority of those still waiting have received no information about why they have not been paid.
Some, however, have missed out because they have left their jobs and their former employers have not made the claim on their behalf.
Many have been told the delays are because of the Government not releasing funds and that they may have to wait another couple of months.
But the care workers cannot understand why their NHS colleagues got their bonuses at the end of last year and they are still having to wait.
And while at least 400 GMB workers out of the 1,000 who responded to the survey are still waiting - the overall number could run to thousands for those who did not respond or are in other unions.
GMB Scotland Secretary Gary Smith said: “It’s shambolic that six months after the First Minister announced the bonus many carers have still not received this ‘thank you’ payment.
“It’s been a wretched year for social care and the government must sort this out immediately. But it also shows why we need to move at pace and deliver a national care service with a £15 an hour minimum wage.
“If we properly value our carers, we won’t need to worry about bonuses for topping-up low pay of less than £10 an hour, because our carers will be valued properly.
“Let’s get on with it.”
In November First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced a one-off payment for Scotland’s “lifesavers and care-givers on the frontline throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic”.
She said a pro rata payment of £500 would be made “as soon as is practicable” to all NHS and social care workers employed since March 17 2020 - including staff who have had to shield, or who have since retired.
But she said the award would be made within “this financial year” and promised: “There are no strings attached.”
The financial year, however, ended in April and a large proportion of private sector care workers are still waiting.
The bonus was to be paid to more than 300,000 staff including nurses, porters, doctors, primary care staff, homecare workers, care home staff, hospice staff and residential child care staff.
Sturgeon said at the time: “Back in the spring, at the height of the first wave of COVID, many of us publicly – and often loudly – showed our appreciation for the work our NHS and social care staff were doing.
“The applause was important but it was never enough. Our appreciation must be shown in a more tangible way.
“Those who have worked in our hospitals and care homes - at the sharpest end of the COVID trauma - deserve recognition now.”
She said every full time NHS and social care worker would receive £500 as a one-off thank you payment for their “extraordinary service”. Those who work part time were to get a proportionate share.
Last night Lib-Dem health spokesman Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “The Government dined out for weeks on the credit afforded them for recognising our hard working NHS and care staff in this way.
“But over time it has transpired that this payment has been delayed or missed out entirely to people who believed they would be receiving it before Christmas.
“This is symptomatic of a government which is obsessed with an easy headline but not interested in what it will fully take to recognise our health and care professionals.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “There are approximately 170,000 people working for 1,200 employers, plus personal assistants in adult social care.
“Due to the vast number of employers in the social care sector, setting up eligibility guidelines and a payment process has taken time. The payment has now been made to NHS staff and to the majority of social care staff, and working with our partners we expect further payments to be made shortly.”
