Multi-year NHS pay deal rejected by midwives

Midwives have rejected the 7.99% three-year pay offer for NHS non-medical staff, claiming it will be a real-terms cut in wages.

The deal was negotiated jointly by Unison, the RCN, the government and NHS Employers and gives extra money to nurses on band five.

Now the Royal College of Midwives is to consult with its members through its network of stewards and branches after its council rejected the proposed deal yesterday.

Dame Karlene Davis, RCM general secretary, said: 'Our council has recommended that our members reject the award because it is a poor deal for midwives and other NHS staff.

'They are already seeing their pay falling in real terms as prices, from bread to mortgages, continues to rise. This is not a pay award, it is the road to a pay cut.

'The Government might as well reach into midwives' bank accounts and take their money, because this is what it amounts to.'