Today the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has launched this pay consultation of its members working in the NHS in England and Wales. The College wants to gauge how midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) feel about the pay award and what action they are willing to take as result of the below inflation pay increase.
In England the Government announced a £1400 pay award for NHS staff, a 4.75% increase to the overall pay bill. That amount is adjusted to 4% for those at the top of band 6 or in band 7 – the majority of RCM members and midwives in higher bands will lose out with a lower percentage pay increase yet again.
The situation for midwives and MSWs in Wales is the same, with the majority of midwives in Wales set receive a dismal 4% pay increase, which is less than half the current rate of inflation.
While governments in both countries accepted the recommendation of the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB) the RCM has said its unacceptable having campaigned for an inflation busting pay award,
Commenting, the RCM’s Director for Employment Relations Alice Sorby said;
“We have voiced our anger and frustration about this pay award which we believe is completely unfair given the spiralling rate of inflation and the impact that is having on our members who are struggling to cope with the rising cost of living. Now we need every single RCM member working in the NHS in England and Wales to complete our short survey and tell us what they think and what they are willing to do.
“Because this is a pay award that will be implemented automatically, we aren’t asking members to vote to accept or reject this, but we are asking midwives and MSWs if they would be willing to take industrial action. It’s crucial we hear the views of every member to inform the next steps of our pay campaign.”
RCM members will receive more information about the survey directly via email and can also complete the survey on the RCM’s website. Those members not currently receiving emails from the RCM should check their contact details and preferences are up to date immediately, which can be done quickly by logging on to its website here.
Alice added:
“For the RCM to make a decision to move to a statutory industrial action ballot the RCM Board needs a mandate from our members. It is not something we can do without their input. Restrictive trade union legislation means the ability for trade unions to take industrial action is harder than ever before. That is why we need a big response to this survey so please do complete our quick survey and encourage your colleagues to do the same.”
The pay consultation launched today (1 August) will run until Monday 5 September. The survey results will then be presented to the RCM Board who will consider the next steps. Take part today.
