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.

This is the first time in it’s 125 year history the RCM have decided to ballot its 23,000 midwives. They 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 instead of working to their contracted hours, midwives are to take lunch breaks and finishing on time.

Dame Karlene Davis, general secretary of the Royal College of Midwives, said, "Midwives' morale is not at rock bottom, it is subterranean. They are working harder and harder, delivering more and more babies with fewer midwives. It is sad that midwives have been pushed to this point. "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."

Since 2001, the number of live births in England has increased by almost 71,000 (12.5 per cent) whilst the number of midwives has risen by only 4.5 per cent in the same period.

It is recommended that each midwife should deliver 27.5 babies a year but due to the increased birth rate, midwives on average each delivered 33.7 babies last year.
They are delivering almost 25 per cent more babies than is appropriate, according to experts. 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."

The RCM expects to have a clear idea by September whether midwives are in favour of industrial action.

WWW.BBC.CO.UK 20th July