In a historic move after two decades the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has announced that it is withdrawing from the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) process for 2026/27.

The decision the trade union says ‘it hasn’t taken lightly’ but one they feel is ‘absolutely necessary’ given lack of progress on NHS pay reform for over a decade which has impacted its hardworking members significantly.

The RCM says it believes that direct meaningful negotiations are now the only way forward to truly tackle NHS pay structure reform and headline pay for its members. Pay and terms and conditions are among the top reasons why midwives are considering leaving the profession or why so many have already left says the RCM. So, this if solved fairly will ensure maternity services can retain and recruit midwives to deliver the much-needed safety improvements across the country.

The RCM says its members across England, Wales and Northern Ireland have told them they are ‘disillusioned’ with the PRB process, as they don’t believe it can resolve the long-standing issues which has left them worse off, with their annual pay rises being outstripped by the rising cost of living.

The RCM is not alone in withdrawing from this year’s PRB process in favour of direct negotiations it is joined by 13 other NHS Staff Side Health trade unions.

Commenting, RCM’s General Secretary, Gill Walton said:

“Our members are frustrated and there is palpable anger over the 2025/26 pay award. Their pay uplift this year was one of the lowest in the public sector and it has left them frustrated with the entire Pay Review Body process. They rightly feel they deserved more, as does the RCM particularly as they find themselves like many others struggling in a cost-of-living crisis. The Government can no longer hide behind the NHS Pay Review Body, its defunct. We’ve also long said that we cannot achieve or begin meaningful negotiations on long term structural pay reform and pay restoration while continuing with the PRB process. It is not a decision the RCM has taken lightly, but it’s one we believe is in the best interest of all members in the long term.

“Equally, it’s in the best interest of ensuring we have enough staff to safely run our NHS maternity services now and into the future. Pay is a crucial lever in retaining and recruiting midwifery staff and given the current staffing pressures facing services across the country and the push to improve the safety of our services we should be doing all we can to retain and recruit staff .What we don’t want to see is anymore staff leaving services, over pay but right now some are considering doing just that because they don’t feel valued after years of pay restraint.”

The RCM says when they recently asked their members if they thought the RCM ‘should review its support for the NHS Pay Review Body?’ 95% of respondents said that ‘they should’.

The focus for the RCM now together with the 13 other NHS Staff Side Unions it says is to concentrate its efforts and resources on pushing for funding for meaningful talks through the Staff Council on structural pay reform and headline pay for 2026/27 and for longer term reforms linked to the early years of the 10-year workforce plan.

Gill added:

“We are proud to stand with the overwhelming majority of the Staff Side organisations who are taking the same position as the RCM on this year’s PRB pay process. Together we are calling on the Government to put pay right once and for all, through urgent negotiations on structural pay reform and exploring a longer term pay deal. A deal, with terms and conditions that makes our hardworking members feel valued and keeps them in our maternity services to deliver the Government’s ambitious 10 Year Plan and upcoming recommendations that will come from the Rapid Review into maternity services. We want to work with Government and the NHS to make our maternity services an attractive place to work for midwives and maternity support workers, where professional, honest, challenging work, is paid fairly and the NHS is a place where career progression is achievable and rewarded fairly.”

ENDS

To contact the RCM Media Office call 020 7312 3456, or email media@rcm.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• In Northern Ireland – the RCM says its members are still awaiting their pay award for 2025/26, with members in England and Wales receiving theirs in August – read more on that here:  ‘Utterly unfair’ that RCM members in Northern Ireland are still without pay uplift   – Royal College of Midwives
• The 14 unions representing staff on ‘Agenda for Change’ contracts within the NHS have written jointly to health secretary Wes Streeting urging him to honour a commitment made last year to tackle the problems in the pay system, including the delay in staff receiving their annal pay award that are harming staffing and morale.
• The 14 health unions representing staff on ‘Agenda for Change’ contracts including the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) are: The Association for Laboratory Medicine, British Association of Occupational Therapists, British Dietetic Association, British Orthoptic Society, Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, GMB, Pharmacists’ Defence Association, Prison Officers Association, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Podiatry, Society of Radiographers, UNISON and Unite.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team.  We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance, and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences, and online resources. For more information visit the RCM | A professional organisation and trade union dedicated to serving the whole midwifery team