LONDON: Midwives in England have voted to accept the Government’s pay offer to National Health Services (NHS) staff, according to a statement from the Royal College of Midwives (RCM).
“In a turnout of 48% of eligible RCM midwife and maternity support worker (MSW) members working in the NHS in England, 57% voted to accept the deal, with 43% rejecting,” said the statement. Unison, the largest NHS union, has also accepted the deal, but “narrowly rejected” by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), added a report of London’s Evening Standard.
It’s a step forward
According to Alice Sorby, Director of Employment Relations, RCM, “The offer was not perfect, and it was not everything we asked for or that midwives and MSWs deserve. However, it was a step forward from the Government’s entrenched position on 2022/23 pay and improved on its directions to the Pay Review Body for 2023/24. It was the power of the collective unions standing together, with our members behind us, that brought the Government to the table and led to this improved offer.” The Government’s pay offer followed intense negotiations with health unions. It builds on the consolidated £1,400 – or four per cent for most RCM members – pay award already imposed for 2022/23.
The offer included a non-consolidated lump sum of two per cent of an individual’s salary, plus a one-off ‘backlog bonus’. The lump will be worth at least £1,250, with many midwives receiving over £2,000. For 2023/24 there will be a consolidated five per cent pay award and an increase to band 1 and the bottom of band 2 of 10.4 per cent. This will see entry-level pay in the NHS increase to £11.45 per hour, bringing a much-needed uplift for lower paid staff, says the RCM.
Earlier, the Department of Health and Social Care said in a media release that talks have been constructive and the Government has now put forward a final offer.
Fair and reasonable
In March, the Government held formal negotiations with unions representing staff including nurses, paramedics, 999 emergency call handlers, midwives, security guards and cleaners, to find a fair and reasonable way forward on pay. More than one million NHS staff in England will receive an additional pay rise as part of an offer made following talks between the government and Agenda for Change unions, it stated.
The Government communique said that all parties committed to finding a fair deal for hardworking NHS staff, and a deal that also acknowledged the wider economic pressures facing the UK that would ensure we can deliver the Prime Minister’s promise to halve inflation – one of his 5 priorities. A separate pay dispute by junior doctor members of the British Medical Association (BMA) is ongoing, with both sides remaining deadlocked, said the Evening Standard.
