More than 10,000 ambulance staff have voted to strike in England and Wales, the GMB union has introduced.
It stated: “No one in the health service takes strike action lightly – today shows just how desperate they are.”
Paramedics, emergency care assistants, name handlers and different employees are set to stroll out in 9 trusts:
- South West Ambulance Service
- South East Coast Ambulance Service
- North West Ambulance Service
- South Central Ambulance Service
- North East Ambulance Service
- East Midlands Ambulance Service
- West Midlands Ambulance Service
- Welsh Ambulance Service
- Yorkshire Ambulance Service
The industrial motion is about to happen earlier than Christmas, with the union planning to satisfy reps within the coming days to debate potential dates.
The GMB stated staff throughout the ambulance companies and a few NHS trusts have voted to strike over the federal government’s 4% pay award, which it described as one other “massive real-terms pay cut”.
“Ambulance workers – like other NHS workers – are on their knees,” stated the union’s nationwide secretary, Rachel Harrison.
“Demoralised and downtrodden, they’ve faced 12 years of Conservative cuts to the service and their pay packets, fought on the front line of a global pandemic and now face the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.”
The strike comes after the UK’s largest commerce union, Unison, introduced hundreds of its ambulance staff in England additionally intend to take industrial motion earlier than Christmas.
Up to 100,000 nurses from the Royal College of Nursing are additionally set to stage a mass walkout in December – one of many busiest months for the NHS.
The military has already been positioned on stand by in case it’s wanted to fill the roles of NHS staff whereas strikes are going down.
Several strikes are additionally going down throughout different sectors, with Eurostar safety employees saying earlier on Wednesday that they are going to be collaborating in a walkout subsequent month in a dispute over pay.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at Network Rail and 14 prepare operators are putting in December and January as nicely.
Source: information.sky.com”