Belfast midwives to vote on strike action: Royal College of Midwives announces ballot on industrial action for members in the Northern Ireland health service

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said on Wednesday that its ballot of members working in the health service here would open on January 31, and run until March 7.If members vote in favour of industrial action, the RCM would become the latest in a string of trade unions representing health service workers to take to the picket line in a dispute over pay - following industrial action by Unison, the Royal College of Nursing, Nipsa, Unite and the GMB unions.A spokesperson for the RCM said: "The move to a ballot follows a consultation in November about the willingness of RCM members to take industrial action over the NHS Pay Review Body (PRB)recommendation of a 4% pay award. In the consultation RCM members sent a clear and direct message about their disenchantment, says the RCM. Almost nine out of 10 who responded to the consultation said they would be prepared to take industrial action if the PRB recommendations were implemented. The 4% award was imposed on HSC staff including midwives and MSWs in December as inflation sat at over 10%.”

Karen Murray, the RCM Director for Northern Ireland, said: “Our members have seen years of real terms pay cuts made massively worse by current double-digit inflation and are significantly worse off now than they were a decade ago. They are also facing major pressures and demands without the staffing and resources to meet them.”