 News
23rd July 2007
Midwives to vote on industrial action
Midwives in England are to vote on whether to take industrial action.
The move follows the government's decision to give a recommended 2.5
per cent pay rise in two stages rather than one which means the rise equates
to only 1.9 per cent over the year, according to the Royal College of
Midwives.
The RCM have decided to ballot its 23,000 midwives for the first time
in its 125 year history but have stressed that any action taken must not
compromise the care they give to mothers and babies, which rules out a
strike.
Instead, midwives could vote to include a ban on working overtime and
midwives instead working to their contracted hours, taking lunch breaks
and finishing on time.
Dame Karlene Davis, general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives,
said, "It is sad that midwives have been pushed to this point.
"Midwives' morale is not at rock bottom, it is subterranean. They are
working harder and harder, delivering more and more babies with fewer
midwives.
"To top this off they are not even given their full pay award, unlike
their colleagues in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
"This is not about midwives asking for inflation busting pay rises,
they are simply asking for fair play and fair pay."
Midwives work on average seven hours a week unpaid, saving the NHS £2
million a year.
A Department of Health spokesman said, "Discussions continue with the
unions about the 2007/08 pay award.
"The government has been committed to ensuring NHS staff are better paid
and the pay award for health professionals in England is a fair award
reflecting the balance between the right level of pay and the need to
be vigilant against the threats of inflation."
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