Midwives and maternity help employees within the NHS in England and Wales are to be balloted on industrial motion over pay.
The Royal Faculty of Midwives (RCM) made the announcement after a month-long session noticed its members overwhelmingly reject the Authorities’s below-inflation pay award.
Two-thirds of eligible members in England and greater than eight out of 10 in Wales took half within the session, with three-quarters saying they need to be balloted on industrial motion.
The RCM will announce the dates of the ballots in every nation within the coming weeks.
Our members have spoken and similar to us they imagine a below-inflation pay award shouldn't be ok, they deserve extraDr Suzanne Tyler, RCM
It stated it desires to reassure maternity workers and ladies and households utilizing providers that midwives and maternity help employees is not going to take any motion that may put girls or infants in danger.
The RCM stated that ought to its members vote for industrial motion, it is not going to ask them to interrupt their code of conduct, and protected providers will likely be maintained.
Guaranteeing the supply of protected providers remained paramount throughout earlier strike motion in 2014, the RCM added.
Dr Suzanne Tyler of the RCM stated: “Our members have spoken and similar to us they imagine a below-inflation pay award shouldn't be ok, they deserve extra.
“The outcomes and turnout speaks volumes in regards to the emotions of a fragile, exhausted and undervalued workforce, as a result of taking industrial motion is at all times the final resort for midwives and maternity workers.
“They clearly now see no different various to getting a good and simply pay award from their governments.
“Our members – together with many different employees throughout the UK – are sending a really, very clear message to the Authorities, and one which should not be ignored any longer.
“Governments should step in to cease midwives and different workers from leaving the NHS, significantly at time of staffing disaster when maternity providers in England alone are wanting over 2,000 midwives.
“One of many methods to do this is by providing these devoted and dedicated professionals the inflation-busting pay rise they and their colleagues deserve. Not only for their unimaginable efforts but in addition as a result of it's the proper factor to do to guard them from the ravages of quickly rising costs and inflation.
“It is a signal of simply how battered and bruised the maternity workforce is, dealing with unprecedented calls for with too few workers and pay falling approach behind the hovering value of dwelling.
“Now we have a brand new political management for the UK and a Prime Minister who stated that she is going to ‘ship on the Nationwide Well being Service’.
“That is her likelihood to start out delivering, as a result of the NHS is nothing with out its workers and they're leaving in droves.”