Ambulance workers vote to strike across three south coast trusts

Paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff are set to walk out across the South West Ambulance Service Trust, The South East Coast Ambulance Service Trust, and the South Central Ambulance Service Trust.

The decision comes after the government’s imposed 4 per cent pay award, which a spokesperson for the GMB Union said equates to another real-terms pay cut.

The union will now meet over the coming days to discuss potential strike dates before Christmas.

GMB National Secretary Rachel Harrison said Ambulance workers ‘are on their knees.’

“Demoralised and downtrodden, they’ve faced twelve years 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.”

This is the latest in a long line of strikes which have affected a range of industries, including communications and travel, this year.

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