UK Midwives to vote on whether to join nurses on strike over 'insulting' pay rise offer

After receiving an ‘insulting’ salary raise offer, midwives and maternity support staff are voting to join nurses on strike. Today is the first day of voting for midwives in the UK to decide if they will join nurses this winter in walkouts.

In response to the government’s ‘insulting’ offer of a 4% or £1,400 pay increase, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) today issued ballots to 31,000 members in England and Wales, urging them to support strike action. Scotland’s 2,500 union members have already overwhelmingly supported this strike action.

The RCM has requested an ‘inflation busting’ salary raise from the government but has not specified the amount. The four-week voting period will end on December 12, and the results will be made public that day.



It occurs during a winter of disturbance in which hundreds of thousands of NHS medical professionals will join strike action. This week, there were definite strikes among the nursing staff, and junior doctors and paramedics may surely follow.

Numerous surgeries are anticipated to be postponed, along with necessary cancer and dialysis care. Senior officials warned that if ambulance workers join the strikes, the Army is ready to answer 999 calls.

However, there are increasing calls from Royal College of Nursing members for the “irresponsible” action to be abandoned due to worries that patients’ lives will be in danger.

By claiming that it was “not negotiating” with unions, the government has so far rejected efforts to increase medical professionals’ compensation even more. The newly appointed Health Minister Steve Barclay said demands for increases of over 17 percent were “not affordable.”

FAQs:

1. Who is referred to as a midwife?
   Midwives offer maternity care from early in pregnancy until six weeks after giving birth.
2. Are midwives referred to as doctors?
   A midwife is not a doctor. Despite their extensive training, registered and certified midwives are unable to perform caesarean sections on their own. They have the ability to provide epidurals and medications that induce labour, but they are less likely to do so than doctors.