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RCM urges members in Scotland to have their say on pay

on 12 April 2021 Maternity Services Pay

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is urging its members in Scotland to have their say on pay as it launches its formal consultation on the offer of a 4% pay increase.

As part of its ‘Deliver a decent deal’ campaign, the RCM has been campaigning for an early and significant pay rise for all NHS staff. The offer of 4% from the Scottish Government follows challenging negotiations undertaken by the RCM and other NHS health unions in Scotland.

The RCM says the Scottish Government has agreed to backdate the pay award to 1 December 2020, four months earlier than the 1 April 2021 due date. This is the result of the joint trade unions’ campaign for an early pay award and is in addition to the one-off £500 payment which was paid in February 2021.

 

Commenting, Jackie Mitchell, RCM’s National Officer for Scotland, says:

“We are happy that Scotland is leading the way on pay and we believe this is the best offer we can achieve in the current climate. We are encouraging all midwives, maternity care assistants and maternity support workers in Scotland to have their say and respond to our consultation on this offer. Crucially the Scottish Government has agreed to backdate this offer to December last year and all Agenda for Change staff are set to benefit by voting yes.”

The RCM says it pressed the Scottish Government for this offer to be applied equitably across Agenda for Change pay bands, but we were unable to achieve this increase for bands 8 and above due to Scottish Government public sector pay policy.

Jon Skewes, RCM’s Executive Director for External Relations and one of the lead negotiators for NHS Unions, says:

“Lots of hard work and negotiations have happened to get to this point. An offer of 4%, which will also be backdated, is something the RCM has been lobbying and campaigning for. Sadly, the same cannot be said yet for our members in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Government has just proved a significant and backdated offer is affordable so let’s do the same for midwives, maternity support workers and all NHS workers across UK.”

The RCM’s consultation with its members starts today (12 April) and will run for four weeks until midday on 10 May. During this period, the RCM will also host virtual meetings with its members across Scotland to give them an opportunity to talk to the RCM’s lead negotiator and answer any questions they may have.

ENDS

 

#DeliverADecentDeal

To contact the RCM media office call 020 7312 3456 or email media@rcm.org.uk

Notes to Editors

 

 

The RCM is the only trade union and professional association dedicated to serving midwifery and the whole midwifery team. We provide workplace advice and support, professional and clinical guidance and information, and learning opportunities with our broad range of events, conferences and online resources. For more information visit the RCM website at https://www.rcm.org.uk/.

 

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