Ambulance workers set to go on strike

Workers at the North West, West Midlands and North East ambulance service trusts will strike on Wednesday, December 21, and Wednesday, December 28, unions have announced today (Tuesday).

Unite says that the action is a 'stark warning' to the government that it must stem the crisis engulfing the NHS following ministers’ 'deliberate 12-year assault on pay'. 

Unite’s ambulance workers voted by up to 92 per cent for strike action.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “Make no mistake, we are now in the fight of our lives for the very NHS itself.

"These strikes are a stark warning – our members are taking a stand to save our NHS from this government. 

“Patients’ lives are already at risk but this government is sitting on the sidelines, dodging its responsibility to sort out the crisis that it has created.

“Ministers can’t keep hiding behind the pay review body. 

"They know full well it does not address the desperate need to get huge numbers of NHS workers off the breadline. 

“Fail to act now to avert these strikes and the blame will rest firmly at the government’s door.”

The GMB union has announced that Paramedics, Emergency Care Assistants, call handlers and other staff will strike on December 21 and 28 - from 00:01 to 23:59 each day.

GMB representatives will now meet with NWAS to discuss requirements for life and limb cover. 

Throughout the strike, Unite will maintain essential emergency cover for patients.

Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said: “Ambulance workers – like other NHS workers – are on their knees. 

“Demoralised and downtrodden, they’ve faced 12 years of Conservative cuts to the service and their pay packets, fought on the frontline of a global pandemic and now face the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.  

“No one in the NHS takes strike action lightly – today shows just how desperate they are. 

“This is as much about unsafe staffing levels and patient safety as it is about pay.

"A third of GMB ambulance workers think delays they’ve been involved with have led to the death of a patient.  

“Something has to change or the service as we know it will collapse. 

“GMB calls on the Government to avoid a Winter of NHS strikes by negotiating a pay award that these workers deserve.”

---

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.