Midwives in England vote to accept government pay offer - Royal College of Midwives confirms

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) have confirmed  Midwives across England have voted to accept the government’s pay offer to NHS staff. The union confirmed  57% of its members had voted to accept the deal with a 48% turnout of voters.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) had not voted to strike in England due to the voter turnout being below the threshold for industrial action. Though thousands of nurses are expected to strike for 48 hours across England at 8pm on April 30.

This is just the latest in a long line of strike action taken by workers across the UK which has seen rail workers, teachers and other medical staff ballot for action. The action comes after long standing pay disputes as well as unfair working conditions.

The largest NHS union, Unison, has also accepted the deal. However, it has been rejected by the Royal College of Nursing. The Royal Society of Radiographers (RSR) which urged members not to vote for the deal have rejected the offer.

Director of Employment Relations at the RCN, Alice Sorby, said the offer was “not perfect” but acknowledged that it was “step forward from the government’s entrenched position on 2022/23 pay”. Sorby added: “It was the power of collective unions standing together, with our members behind us, that brought the government to the table and led to this improved offer.”

The news comes after Health Secretary Steve Barclay launched a legal challenge in a bid to obstruct the second day of the strike action due to the ongoing pay dispute. However, this has since been voted down in the House of Lords.

There is also a pay dispute between junior doctor members of the British Medical Association which has resulted in both sides remaining deadlocked. co-chairs of the BMA’s junior doctors committee, Dr Robert Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi said: They wrote in a letter: “We are willing to negotiate, and no further strike action has been called, however, we must avoid attempting to negotiate via letters. Therefore, we look forward to meeting with you to begin a positive process towards resolving our dispute.”