Midwives and maternity support workers are voting whether to join nurses on strike after an 'insulting' pay rise offer.
The 31,000 union members are being balloted from today in England and Wales on whether they will follow nurses in mass walkouts this winter.
The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) is urging members to take action after what it branded was an 'insulting' pay offer of four per cent, or a £1,400 boost.
This comes as midwives in Scotland overwhelmingly backed industrial action and in Northern Ireland union members are already being consulted.
The ballot will be open for four weeks from today and could see them join nurses on the picket line.
The decision to possibly strike came after members overwhelmingly rejected the government's pay offer with three quarters saying they wanted to be balloted on industrial action.
This week nurses with the Royal College of Nurses announced they will be going on strikes that will affect around half of the UK's hospitals.
The nurses strike would be the first of its kind in the RCN's 106-year history, as the union as resisted all such action in the past.
Similarly, if midwives strike, it would be only the second time in 140 years that the RCM has taken such a decision.
The union said any such strikes would not put women or babies at risk and safe services will be maintained.
RCM’s Executive Director Trade Union, Dr Suzanne Tyler said: “Our members are sending a very clear message to the Governments in England and Wales and one that must not be ignored any longer.
"We have previously warned NHS leaders and Governments in England and Wales that staff were at breaking point and a below inflation pay award would see midwives heading for the door.
"Our members feel undervalued, under paid and are now angry that the Government has not listened to them. Many are struggling with the rising cost of living and deeply worried about the future.
"For midwives to consider taking industrial action it is really the last straw, but they feel they have no other option.”
Strikes are looking set to hit the NHS as its waiting time continues to reach record highs, with over seven million Brits in line.
After the RCN ballot, 176 trusts voted for action out of a total of 311, with all in Scotland and Northern Ireland backing the strikes and only one not doing so in Wales.
In England the figure was lower as slightly under half of the 215 trusts voted for industrial action.
Due to how the voting is held, hospitals vote on a local basis whether to strike, but RCN is looking to coordinate the action.
The newly appointed Health Minister Steve Barclay said he had a 'constructive meeting' with RCN members yesterday as it is thought strikes will hit before Christmas and could continue until May.
However, as the RCN stands by its demands of a 17.6 per cent pay rise, which would reportedly cost £9billion to implement, it seems the two sides remain far apart.
The minister said: "But union demands for a 17.6% pay settlement are around three times what millions of people outside the public sector will typically receive and simply aren’t reasonable or affordable."
