The latest round of ambulance strikes due to take place next week have been halted after the Government agreed to discuss pay for this year, unions have said.
GMB and Unison unions say they have received assurances from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) that there is cash available for potential pay rises covering both this year and next year.
It comes as ambulance workers were set to stage another walk out on Monday and Wednesday next week in an ongoing row with the department over pay and working conditions.
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But the planned strikes, involving 13,000 workers, have now been suspended, after GMB added that ministers have also said they are open to discussions about improvements to ambulance worker's terms and conditions.
Unison’s Sara Gorton said that strike action would resume if discussions were not “meaningful”.
Industrial action previously took place in December last year, as well as January and February this year, with strikes affecting North West Ambulance Service.
NHS staff across professions have been striking over pay, working conditions, and what they say are dangerous staffing levels.
Unions have been urging the government to come up with an attractive pay offer to compensate current staff for hours of overtime and unsociable shifts, as well as encouraging new starters to fill the empty posts in a chronically understaffed service.
The strikes follow a winter of unprecedented pressures, with medics across the country reporting huge queues of ambulances outside A&Es, hours of waiting in emergency department, and precious few beds amid huge demand.
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