Midwives and maternity support workers (MSWs) who are members of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) for NHS Wales are set to go on strike next month over pay and working conditions. The RCM announced on Monday that strike action would take place from 8am to 4pm on Tuesday, February 7.
On top of this the union announced that their members would also take industrial action short of a strike by claiming payment for any overtime worked in the week following strike action. In December an RCM survey for the Welsh workplace branches showed that just over half (50.5%) of midwives felt they were unable to take breaks during their working day.
According to the union the safety of women will be the "prime concern" during industrial action and that there will be midwives and maternity support workers on maternity units to ensure that women who are either in labour or needing emergency care will still receive the care they need. The RCM has said that the cover will be similar to that in place on a bank holiday.
Read more: Nurses in Wales announce new strike dates in February
The union's director for Wales Julie Richards said there was a "growing crisis" in maternity services in Wales. In a statement she added: "We are losing midwives because they simply cannot sustain the incredible effort they are having to make to ensure services are safe.
"They have also seen a decade and more of pay freezes and pay stagnation watching their pay packets significantly shrink with real-terms pay cuts. To offer them a pay deal well below half of the rate of inflation is simply an insult that does a massive disservice to our maternity staff.
"Our members have made the decision to take industrial action after a great deal of thought and very reluctantly because their first concern is for the women, babies, and families they care for. However they have been corralled into a dead end by government and see no other option than take a stand for what they know is right for them and most importantly for women."
Numerous strike actions have taken place here in Wales and in the rest of the UK over the last few months. Nurses in Wales staged two days of industrial action on December 15 and 20 last year – the first time in history they had done so.
It was recently announced that members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) will strike for 12 hours on February 6 and 7 unless a new pay offer is put on the table by Welsh Government. Meanwhile Unite ambulance workers have been striking on Thursday, January 19 and on Monday, January 23. GMB Union recently confirmed that around 1,500 of its members in Wales would take industrial action over pay and working conditions on February 6, February 20, March 6, and March 20.
The RCM's move to action follows a formal ballot of eligible members in Wales late last year on the offer of around 4% pay award for most midwives, which has not been increased by the Welsh Government. According to RCM nine out of 10 members (95%) voted for industrial action short of a strike in the ballot.
A similar number (91%) voted for industrial action consisting of a strike on a turnout of 55.39% of eligible RCM Wales members. The RCM along with other health unions are currently in discussions with the Welsh Government but have yet to reach an agreement.
Ms Richards added: "Midwives and MSWs, along with their maternity colleagues, are keeping maternity services afloat but they can no longer bear that load. They are working long hours, often beyond those they are paid for, and they are exhausted, fragile, and simply at the limits of their endurance.
"This cannot go on because if it does we will continue to lose staff the service can ill afford to. Now is the time for the Welsh Government to act on their concerns and to reward these dedicated public servants with a decent pay deal and tackle the serious problems facing Welsh maternity care."
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