RCPCH members in pay win

Members of Unite employed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) have secured significant improvements to their jobs, pay and conditions after a series of strikes. 

The employer had imposed a 2.5 per cent pay increase last year but the offer has been doubled to 5 per cent alongside bonuses of between £1,000 and £2,000. Unite members have also secured an improved deal of 5 per cent from September 2023, bringing the total increase agreed to 10 per cent.

The workers have also increased maternity pay to six months and doubled paternity pay. Additionally, Unite reps negotiated an end to the two-tier annual leave entitlement, resulting in more annual leave days for half the workforce backdated to January.

Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham said, “Unite members at the College argued that management could afford to pay workers more. There’s no doubt that strike action secured better pay, more holidays and much improved family friendly policies. The union at the College are to be congratulated.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health is the membership body for paediatricians in the UK and around the world. It plays a major role in postgraduate medical education, professional standards, research and policy.

Unite regional officer Matt Freeman added, “The workers have secured significant improvements to their jobs, pay and conditions. They’re also empowered. They took matters into their own hands when they were being treated unfairly and they won.”

By Ciaran Naidoo