Midwives in England will not go on strike this winter, bucking the trend among NHS professionals who have chosen to walk out.
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) ballot fell 3 percentage points short of the required 50 percent turnout, meaning they will not be joining the ranks of nurses and paramedics.
However, midwives in Wales have now reached the threshold and are authorized to strike over remuneration.
The findings come just hours after the physiotherapists union stated that workers in England and Wales would also go on strike.
The nurse workers and ambulance crews of the National Health Service in England and Wales have already announced a series of strikes, with the first occurring this week.
While the RCM ballot in England failed, nearly nine out of ten of those who voted supported a strike over salary and working conditions.
A similar proportion of Welsh midwives chose to strike.
The director of RCM Wales, Julie Richards, stated that despite the ‘heavy hearts of the staff, they had been neglected for too long.
She stated, “The disappointing and unsatisfactory 4% wage offer further reinforced their emotions of being neglected and underpaid.”
“Taking industrial action is always a last resort, and today’s vote demonstrates how anxious our members are for policymakers to listen.”
The Welsh Government must now take action to restore maternity services in Wales and prevent the inevitable outflow of demoralized personnel.
As with the majority of other health unions, the RCM has not advocated for a specific wage increase amount.
But it has stated that inflation must be beaten.
The union contends that the government’s proposal of 4% is inadequate.
Today, the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy confirmed the victory of its strike ballot in both England and Wales, but the RCM produced a divided result.
The CPS reported that 84 percent of members who voted in England and Wales were in favor of striking.
54% of the union’s 60,000 members participated in the election.
Physiotherapists at 112 NHS organizations in England and all NHS health boards in Wales now have a six-month strike mandate.
In England, slightly more than half of the 204 NHS employers polled responded positively.
Twelve additional NHS employers in England and eight in Wales responded in favor of non-strike industrial action.
This entails adhering to work hours, avoiding overtime, rigorously adhering to break policies, and performing their duties as outlined in their contract.
The CSP will now determine where and when a strike will occur if the government fails to increase its salary.
Physiotherapists join nurses and paramedics, who have already set strike dates for this month, in announcing that they will join the picket line in a dispute over compensation.
The result, according to Jill Taylor, chair of the CSP Employment Committee, was a resounding mandate for the union.
“We have never held a vote on wages, but physiotherapy employees now have no choice.” She stated that we are understaffed, overworked, and fatigued.
“Delivering quality care to our patients is our top priority, and to do so, we need additional employees. We must recruit people to the NHS, and we must retain them there. We simply cannot accomplish this until the government grants a fairer pay raise to NHS employees.
Claire Sullivan, head of employer relations and union services at CSP, stated, “No physiotherapist or support worker wishes to strike.”
“NHS employees want to be at work, treating, rehabilitating, and caring for their patients, but the current workforce shortages throughout the NHS make this increasingly challenging every day. This labor shortage cannot be resolved without increased compensation.
She noted that any strike action would protect patient safety, but she asked the government to return to the bargaining table in light of the election results.
We will always ensure the safety of patients during any industrial action, but NHS strikes are avoidable, she said.
Again, I urge the government to listen to repeated pleas from our health union for prompt salary negotiations for the NHS.
The CSP has stated that it desires an above-inflation wage increase for its members.
As with other NHS staff unions, the CPS has reported that some of its members are utilizing food banks to sustain themselves and their families because their wages have not kept pace with the cost of living.
According to the NHS, physiotherapists with a bachelor’s degree earn a starting salary of £27,000 per year, although the majority of the profession earns approximately £33,000 per year in more senior positions.
This outcome means that physiotherapists, along with NHS nurses and ambulance drivers, are authorized to engage in strike action.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) intends to stage the first of two strike dates this week on December 15, followed by another on December 20.
This strike will proceed after negotiations between union leaders and the government broke down last night.
Pat Cullen, general secretary of the RCN, reported after the meeting that Health Secretary Steve Barclay had refused to discuss the union’s proposal for a 19 percent pay increase.
She stated, “The government stayed true to its word; they refused to discuss my salary.”
“I needed to leave this discussion with something substantial to demonstrate why nurses should not strike this week.” Unfortunately, they will not receive any additional funds. I voiced my profound displeasure with the belligerence; they closed their books and left.
A representative for the Department of Health and Social Care stated that Mr. Barclay “again listened to the RCN’s stance on pay and emphasized that the government has accepted the findings of the independent pay review panel.”
The official added, “He stated that any additional salary increase will divert funds from frontline services and reduce the 7,2 million elective backlog.”
Mr. Barclay stated that he will continue to work with the RCN as we move into the pay review process for next year and on issues unrelated to pay.
On December 21, tens of thousands of paramedics will also walk off the job, in addition to the nurses.
The concerted strike was called by unions Unite, Unison, and GMB after they accused the government of disregarding their calls for a decent pay raise.
Junior doctors are also considering a walkout over wages in the New Year, and the BMA has warned that industrial action is now ‘very probable’.
