Author Archives: Cathy Warwick

The Independent View: Liberal Democrats back industrial action by midwives

By Cathy Warwick | Mon 8th September 2014 - 8:55 am

Midwives in England are in dispute right now with their employers after the rejection of a 1 per cent pay rise, recommended by the independent NHS pay review body. It is the first time in our 133-year history that the Royal College of Midwives has balloted members over whether or not to take industrial action.

Eighty per cent of the British public would support giving NHS staff the 1 per cent rise, according to a ComRes poll we commissioned to gauge public opinion. Opposition stands at just 9 per cent (11 per cent answered “don’t know”). Despite this, the recommendation has so far been rejected by NHS employers. Full details of the poll’s findings, including data tables, are available at the ComRes website.

Regardless of how one divides up those who took part in the poll – by gender, age group, whether they work in the public or private sector, which party they support, or which region they live in – there is an absolute majority in favour of the recommended 1 per cent pay rise for NHS staff being implemented.

The Independent View: Public sector pensions – far from gold-plated

By Cathy Warwick | Wed 7th July 2010 - 10:20 am

Teeing up public sector workers like midwives for cuts in their pensions, Nick Clegg spoke recently about the “unreformed gold-plated public sector pension pots” that people like firefighters and soldiers enjoy. We hear a lot about the long-term cost of public sector pension schemes, as if they are a fiscal time-bomb ready to explode at the heart of the public finances.

Firstly, let’s take a look at the reality of these bounteous public sector pension pots. Take the average pension for a female NHS worker, £5,000. What is worse, half of all women pensioners who have worked in the NHS get a …

Posted in Op-eds and The Independent View | Tagged nick clegg and pensions | 15 Comments