The statement echoes comments made by the First Minister to Prospect and other Civil Service unions during a recent meeting.
"Prospect has been at the forefront of calls for Scottish Ministers to change the direction of pay for a number of years" said National Secretary for Scotland Richard Hardy "it's very much to be welcomed that in manifesto for the Westminster elections the SNP have indicated they are now willing to change direction"
Hardy continues "the change, however will not impact members until 2018 and our members face very real issues as inflation is already climbing, and we will continue to make representations to the Scottish Government about how we address members concerns now, not next year"