Hundreds of ambulance workers across the North East are set to go on strike this month in a dispute over pay.
The GMB union says almost 750 ambulance workers in the region will walk out on December 21 and 28, from 00:01 to 23:59 each day. This will include paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff.
GMB representatives will now meet with the North East Ambulance Service to discuss requirements for life and limb cover on those days. The strike is over the Government’s 4% pay award.
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Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary, said: "Ambulance workers – like other NHS 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."
Meanwhile, Unite has announced that more than 1,600 workers at the West Midlands, North West and North East ambulance service trusts will strike on December 21. The union says ambulance workers voted by up to 92% 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."
Throughout the strike, Unite will maintain essential emergency cover for patients. The union continues to ballot 10,000 more NHS workers at 38 different employers across England and Wales, with the results expected later this month.
In addition, Unison ambulance crews working for five services in England – London, Yorkshire, the North East, North West and South West – are to go on strike over pay and staffing on December 21, coinciding the action with GMB and Unite. The Unison strike involving paramedics, emergency care assistants, ambulance technicians and other 999 crew members will run from midday to midnight.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: "NHS workers do an incredible job caring for our loved ones and it is disappointing some will be taking industrial action, ahead of a challenging winter. The economic circumstances mean unions’ demands are not affordable - each additional 1% pay rise for all staff on the Agenda for Change contract would cost around £700 million a year.
"We’ve prioritised the NHS with record funding and accepted the independent pay review body’s recommendations to give over one million NHS workers a pay rise of at least £1,400 this year, with those on the lowest salaries receiving an increase of up to 9.3%. This is on top of the 3% award last year when wider public sector pay was frozen and on top of the wider government support to help with the cost of living.
"Our priority is to ensure emergency services continue to operate for those who need it and limit disruption, particularly at a time when NHS services are under huge pressure due to the impact of Covid. People should continue to use NHS 111 online for urgent healthcare advice and call 999 if it is a life-threatening emergency."
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