Midwives became the latest NHS workers to accept the government’s pay deal in a move that heaps pressure on nurses who held out for more. Some 57 percent of Royal College of Midwives members backed the offer on a turnout of around half.
The five percent pay boost and one off bonus of at least £1,655 is being voted on by a series of health unions.
Alice Sorby, director of employment relations at the RCM, said: “The offer was not perfect, and it was not everything we asked for or that midwives and maternity support workers 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.”
Nurses voted to reject the pay deal and are now intensifying strike action by including previously exempt care, such as emergency services.
Legal action taken by Health Secretary Steve Barclay against the Royal College of Nursing over its strike action goes before the High Court today (Thursday).
The government is challenging whether the RCN has a mandate for its 48-hour walkout this weekend because it says the ballot endorsing strike action ends a day before the action is due to finish.
RCN General Secretary Pat Cullen and nursing staff will gather outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London today in protest.
In her witness statement to the court, she wrote: “This application is part of a clear strategy by the Secretary of State to undermine the RCN and wear down its members in the industrial dispute.
“In doing so, the Secretary of State relies on oppressive legislation introduced by the Conservative government and designed to limit the ability of trade unions to call on their members to take industrial action.
