Midwives in Northern Ireland vote to take industrial action over pay

The RCM is the professional organisation and trade union which represents the interests of midwifery staff

Midwives in Northern Ireland have voted to take industrial action over pay.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said 89% of its members who voted in a ballot said they were prepared to go on strike over the issue.

Some 93.9% voted for industrial action short of a strike, based on a turnout of 55% of eligible RCM members working in the health service in NI.

Midwives were given a 4% pay rise in December, which the union said was well below the then rate of inflation - 10%.

"Our members are exhausted, fragile and burnt out," RCM director Karen Murray said.

"This pay award and the growing crisis in our maternity services will do nothing to keep midwives in our maternity service, as many say they have had enough and will simply head for the door."

The midwifery sector is among many parts of the NHS in dispute with the government over pay.

In December, nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland began a nationwide strike in what was the largest of its kind in NHS history.

• When are the NHS strikes and what does it mean for patients?

This year's ballot on strike action opened on 31 January and closed earlier on Tuesday.

"That so many of our members have voted to take industrial action is a reflection of their growing anger and frustration at a pay award that goes nowhere near to making up for a decade and more of pay freezes and pay stagnation", Ms Murray said.

"The current political situation has left services rudderless for far too long, with no maternity strategy and no plan to drive improvements in maternity care for women and working conditions for midwives, maternity support workers and their colleagues."