The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is urging members to sign a joint open letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, demanding the Government commit real funding to structural pay reform talks to deliver the pay improvement NHS staff deserve.
The RCM is one of 14 health unions representing more than a million health workers. All are united in warning that the 3.3% award fails to keep pace with the cost of living, does nothing to recover more than a decade of lost pay and does not address the pay disparity faced by those on Agenda for Change contracts in recent years
Staff are angry and feel deeply let down after years of falling wages and relentless pressure. Unions warn that without significant extra funding for the long-delayed pay restructure talks, the workforce crisis will continue to grow.
The pay award is due to be imposed on 1 April, with negotiations to follow on longer-term structural reforms that could lead to additional increases for some staff if an agreement is reached.
However, with talks first promised more than 18 months ago, repeated delays have wrecked trust among a workforce already pushed to its limits.
Emma Jenkinson, Director for Employee Relations at the RCM, said: “Midwives and MSWs deserve far better than another below-inflation rise. For many, a 3.3% award will feel like a pay cut, not a pay rise.
“This is the Government’s last opportunity to show it is serious and the time is now to bring real and credible funding to the structural pay reform negotiations to deliver meaningful change.
“We now need to demonstrate the full strength of feeling across our profession to make that happen. That is why we are urging our members to add their names to this important letter.”
The open letter highlights the daily pressures faced by NHS staff: “Day in, day out staff are battling understaffing, overwork and the constant worry that – despite their best efforts – patients are not getting the care they deserve. To rebuild confidence, negotiations must now move quickly and show clearly how they will improve on what staff have already been offered.”
Despite their frustration, unions are clear that staff remain deeply committed to the NHS and the patients they serve. No one wants the health service to succeed more than the people who keep it running, but that demands a workforce that is properly valued and properly paid. The Government must provide sufficient funding to ensure that upcoming talks deliver the meaningful, credible improvements that NHS staff have long been promised.
