Pay offer to Northen Ireland’s midwives ‘miserly’

By The Press Association13th February 2015News Northern IrelandMidwifery, News Northern Ireland, Nursing / Midwifery, Pay, Pay and Conditions

Midwives will be “disgusted” with a pay offer for health staff in Northern Ireland, it has been warned.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said the devolved government had made a “miserly” offer to NHS staff in the long-running row over pay.

The threat of a strike in England last month by health workers was averted after the Westminster government made an offer giving most staff a 1% pay rise.

But industrial action went ahead in Northern Ireland because the same offer was not tabled.

The RCM said an offer had now been made, but it did not match the one currently being voted on by NHS staff in England.

Jon Skewes, policy director at the RCM, said: “It is disgraceful that the Northern Ireland Executive have taken this long to put forward a pay offer to midwives and other NHS staff. The offer they have made is a miserly one and shows the Northern Ireland Executive places little value on the work that NHS staff do, 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide the best possible care to people using the NHS.

“The RCM calls on the Northern Ireland Executive to at the very least match the pay offer made to NHS staff in England. We also call on them for a future commitment to honour the NHS Pay review Body and its recommendations.

“We took industrial action in England over the same offer, but have now reached an agreement in England. We did not take that action lightly but the response from our members on the pay offer was overwhelming. They were angry and took action. I suspect that our members in Northern Ireland will be similarly disgusted with this offer.

“I hope the Northern Ireland Executive will sit down at the negotiating table with the RCM and other unions, and reconsider their position so that together we can seek a solution.”