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If you are a member in England or Wales the RCM wants to hear your views on recent 3% pay award. Please take our really brief 2 minute survey and tell us what you think. Complete survey today.

RCM members in both countries have been given a 3% pay increase through the Pay Review Body (PRB) process, which they will receive in the coming weeks, during September. This pay award will be backdated to April. More here.

Want to catch up on the latest pay campaign activity? Here's what we have done so far: 

  • On 21 July the Westminster Government announced that NHS staff in England would receive a 3% across the board consolidated pay rise. The RCM published a media release reacting to the announcement. You can also read the NHS Pay Review Body report here. The RCM is clear that any pay rise in the NHS must be fully funded and not come from existing budgets.

  • In Wales the Government have announced they would also follow the PRB’s recommendations, the RCM with the other trade unions called on the Welsh Government to meet with joint staff side to see if a better pay increase can be achieved. The RCM media release is here. In Northern Ireland there has been no formal announcement on pay and joint trade unions are seeking engagement with the Health Minister and officials to discuss pay for members in the HSC.

  • A 3% pay award will not be enough to stop midwives and MSWs leaving the NHS and will not help to close the shortage of 2000 midwives that the Government itself admits exists. The latest figures from NHS Digital  show that the number of NHS midwives working in England in May had fallen by almost 300 in just two months. This is the fastest fall for these two months for any of the years listed in the NHS report, which goes back to 2009.  Fair pay is critical to the recruitment and retention of midwives and MSWs and maternity services are under unprecedented amounts of pressure from long-term staff shortages, COVID-related absence and the numbers women are being admitted with COVID requiring more intense levels of care.

  • The PRB process is not a pay negotiation but a pay settlement and will be implemented. As soon as we have information about when the increase will be paid to members we will let you know. There will also be back pay as the due date was 1 April 2021.

  • In the coming weeks we will be asking for your views on the pay award and to help decide next steps for the pay campaign, please ensure that your details are up to date with the and that you have updated your preferences to receive emails from us.
  • Don’t forget to respond to our RCM member survey too, this provides us with really important evidence to help us continue the Deliver a Decent Deal campaign. Take part and share among colleagues today.
  • In June the RCM said a decent  pay rise vital was vital ensure the NHS is fighting fit post-pandemic. More here.

  • In May we publicised the results of a joint union poll showing that two thirds of the public believe the government should try harder to find the money for a decent pay rise for NHS staff in England. Details here.
  • In April we encouraged RCM members in Scotland to vote in our pay consultation on the offer from the Scottish Government. Details here.
  • We encouraged members and the public to support a slow hand clap protest on 11 March. Details here.

  • We urged the Westminster Government to “reconsider urgently” their 1​% NHS pay proposal after Scotland offer of a headline 4% pay rise following negotiations with the NHS trade unions.

  • We also shared next steps following the Government evidence to the PRB in a blog here.

  • We announced that RCM members in Scotland had voted to accept the Scottish Government’s pay offer of a 4% headline pay increase. Details here.

  • We also welcomed the announcement that the pay rise for NHS staff in Scotland would be implemented immediately. Details here.

  • We updated RCM members with a blog on what the pay award in Scotland means for the rest of the UK. The blog can be read here.
  • The Scotland pay consultation is now open. We are encouraging RCM members in Scotland to vote for the NHS pay rise. Access consultation here or see further information via the press release. The consultation closes midday on 10 May.

  • At the end of March we hosted a live webinar entitled 'Why midwives and maternity support workers MSW's deserve a pay rise' to hear directly the experiences of our midwife and MSW members . Guests including Andy Burnham Mayor of Greater Manchester took part in the session:

        

  • In March we called out the Government's proposal to the Pay Review Body (PRB) of a 1% increase for midwives and maternity support worker as 'absolute insult'. RCM calls Government NHS pay proposal 'an absolute insult'

  • On 5 March we also wrote a public letter to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to further express our utter dismay at the 1% pay proposal

  • Also, in March in Scotland the RCM called the Cabinet Secretary out for offering staff a one off payment and attempting to avoid negotiations with unions in Scotland representing staff 

  • In January pay was included in the RCM’s New Year’s 2021 wish list to Government for UK maternity services 
  • Also, January we wrote again to the Prime Minister urging him to speed up the pay process so NHS staff receive a promised wage rise as soon as possible. You can read the media release here.

  • In November with the other NHS trade unions we wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister. Highlighting the impact COVID-19 is having on the NHS and its staff including the risk that many will leave. We repeated our call again that an early pay rise would recognise your skills

  • In October, our General Secretary and CEO Gill Walton highlights pay in her address at the RCM’s Annual Midwifery Conference 

  • In September, we used one of our motions to the annual Trade Union Congress to continue our campaign

  • In August, we repeated our call for an early and significant pay rise and to ensure that other services aren’t defunded to pay for it

  • In July, with the other NHS trade unions we wrote to the Chancellor and the Prime Minister calling for pay talks to start to get NHS staff a wage boost before the end of the year

  • We have also been using evidence from RCM member surveys to show the pressure that maternity services are under. The survey we carried out over the summer showed that midwives and MSWs struggle to access breaks and are working unpaid overtime. You can see those survey results in more detail here.

  • We started our campaign to ‘deliver a decent deal’ for midwives and MSWs saying the Government must act now to give maternity services what they need to cope with the demands on them, addressing shortages and rewarding staff. This follows the publication of the results of an RCM member survey revealing seven out of ten midwives have considered leaving the midwifery profession
  • The RCM is also working alongside the other NHS trade unions to ask everyone to stand ‘With NHS Staff’ and has been involved in a digital campaign aimed at increasing public support for midwives, maternity support workers and all NHS staff. 
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