Health workers in Wales vote to accept pay offer

Health workers in Wales have voted to accept a pay offer from the Welsh Government.

Members of the GMB union backed the offer by 65% on a turnout of 60%.

Nathan Holman, the union’s lead officer in Wales said: “GMB members have voted to accept the offer, however, we recognise many of our members are not happy with the deal.

“We will continue to hold the Welsh Government to account by pushing for restorative pay increases.

“It is vital that we bring our members’ pay back up to the levels they would have received had we not had the years of pay freezes.”

The offer is for a 5% wage increase and an additional one-off payment for 2022-23.

Other health unions in Wales have accepted the offer although it has been rejected by the Royal College of Nursing.

Midwives

On Monday midwife and maternity support worker members (MSW) of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) accepted the Welsh Government’s revised pay offer made last month.

In a turnout of 53.7% of eligible RCM members working in the NHS in Wales, over two-thirds (66.7%) voted to accept the deal, with 33.2% rejecting it.

RCM Director for Wales, Julie Richards, said: “Our members stood up, raised their voices, and were prepared to act for what they believe in and what they deserve. It is their strength and conviction, and those of other union members, that brought the Government to the table and resulted in this deal.

This was an offer that delivered a much-improved pay award. It will also tackle many of the other issues of concern to our members because this was not just about pay. It was also about improving the conditions that midwives, MSWs, and their colleagues work in, and most importantly, about making care better for women.

“We will be holding the Welsh Government to account on these promises on pay and other areas. I now look forward to working with them to make our maternity services the best they possibly can be, for women, and the hardworking professionals running them 24/7, every day of the year. This is not the end of a process; it is a milestone on a long road and gives us a firm base on which to now look to the future.”