Ambulance staff across Dumfries and Galloway have voted to strike.
GMB Scotland members in the Scottish Ambulance Service voted overwhelmingly for industrial action after rejecting a five per cent pay offer.
Across the country, 89 per cent of those who took part in the ballot were in favour of action.
GMB Scotland organiser Karen Leonard said: “This is a direct response from our members to the government that more must be done to properly value NHS workers and the services they deliver, not just to confront the cost-of-living crisis this winter, but also to tackle the understaffing crisis in our frontline services that’s left staff utterly exhausted and increasingly angry.
“The understaffing crisis in particular has been understood for years and left unchallenged, only for Covid-19 to expose and exacerbate the chronic shortfalls in staffing levels and no one should be in any doubt the only way we can recruit and retain the people needed to kick-start a recovery is to value staff better.
“There should be no surprise in government circles about this clear mandate delivered by our members; their strike threat is the inevitable consequence of years of austerity and managed decline in our NHS by political leaders and the unsustainable pressures this has placed on a workforce that everyone depends on.”
Meanwhile, NHS staff who are members of Unison are being asked for their thoughts on a new pay offer.
The Scottish Government is proposing an across the board pay rise of £2,205 which, it states, is an average increase of seven per cent.
The union had been consulting members on strike action after the previous five per cent deal was rejected when the new offer was made. That ballot has been suspended.
Chairman of Unison Scotland’s health committee Wilma Brown said: “The flat rate pay offer of £2,205 is significantly different from previous offers so Unison will be consulting NHS staff.
“They are the ones who will ultimately decide whether they are willing to accept it.”
The pay offer is for those on the Agenda for Change pay scale which includes nurses, midwives and support staff such as porters and admin workers.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “These are uncertain times and it is no secret that public finances are stretched to the limit, so I hope members will seriously consider this offer.”
The Royal College of Nursing is continuing its vote on strike action – which closed on Wednesday.
According to RCN Scotland’s director Colin Poolman members feel demoralised and undervalued by the government.
