RCM calls for an early and decent pay rise for midwives and maternity support workers  

By  RCM calls for an early and decent pay rise for midwives and maternity support workers   on 17 August 2020 RCM Government NHS

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) has today written to MPs on behalf of its members calling for their support to bring forward pay negotiations and ensure that midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) receive a fair and decent pay rise.

The RCM said the current three-year NHS pay deal, which is due to end in 2021, is only beginning to make up for the real term losses their members had suffered over a number of years.

Commenting, Jon Skewes, Executive Director of External Relations at the RCM, said:

“Midwives and maternity support workers work exceptionally hard to deliver safe, quality care, but the past number of months have truly demonstrated their professionalism and commitment to supporting women and their babies during an extremely anxious period. Despite many challenges, such as service closures and staff shortages, they have continued to keep services open and running. We don’t believe our members should be treated differently to other public sector workers particularly during a time of national crisis when the NHS staff have huge demands to cope with.”

The trade union and  professional body which represents midwives and maternity support workers across the UK has said its grossly unfair that dentists and some other public sector workers are set to receive a pay rise, but midwives, nurses and some other NHS frontline staff have been excluded from this latest pay round. The reason for this is that these staff are coming to the end of a three-year pay deal, but, the RCM has stated today that the current circumstances justify bringing forward the renewal of that process by a few months.

Jon added:

“We want all NHS staff to be included in this round of pay rises, not just some. Over a million people work in the NHS in England, including hundreds of thousands of midwives and nurses. They work in every corner of the country. Putting extra money in their pockets would not just acknowledge and recognise their hard work, it would put cash into struggling local economies up and down the country and help families at a time when many will be facing mounting financial difficulties.”

The RCM is also writing to politicians across the UK – in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as England – asking them to bring forward earlier pay rises for members in all countries and hopes to get parallel discussions underway as soon as possible.

Also, any money made available by the UK government for pay rises for NHS staff in England will be made available to the devolved countries through the Barnett Formula.

 

ENDS

To contact the RCM media office call 020 7312 3456 or email [email protected].

Notes to Editors

 

The RCM is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team. We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences and online resources. For more information visit the RCM website at https://www.rcm.org.uk/.