Rishi Sunak should "come clean" about whether he truly intends to negotiate on pay for ambulance workers and NHS staff.
That's the message from UNISON's regional general secretary Clare Williams on a day which has yet again seen thousands of paramedics and ambulance service staff head for the picket lines. The pay dispute between the workers - and other NHS staff such as nurses - appears no closer to ending than it did when the first strikes took place in December.
As she visited picket lines around the North East, Clare Williams told ChronicleLive she hoped the Government would "come to the negotiating table" - but with there being "little movement" in the Government position since previous strikes, it was time for the Prime Minister to be clear about his intentions.
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The top union figure said: "It's been disappointing. And what we are saying is that the Government needs to come to the negotiating table. We need them to sit down with UNISON and the other health unions and resolve this. We have a staffing crisis in the NHS.
"There has been no movement. Rishi Sunak needs to come clean and give us a proper answer. He says he wants to resolve the dispute - so come to the table."
She added that many of her members were deeply disappointed they had been forced into further action. She continued: "You have to ask the question - do the Government think they can sit this one out and the public won't support ambulance workers and the NHS staff?
"Well what I can tell them is that from picket lines across the North East there are very very high levels of support for ambulance service workers."
At Ashington ambulance station, Sarah Jones, a striking paramedic based there, told ChronicleLive: "Today, we're trying to put pressure on the Government to come to the negotiating table. We want them to get around the table, talk to the executive and try to resolve this. We don't want to be out on strike. We want to be securing a good foundation for the ambulance service going forward
"The slow erosion of everything across the board. is going to be very detrimental. It's detrimental now and will be worse in the long run."
Ian Lavery, the Labour MP for Wansbeck, attended the picket in Ashington and said he was there to support the striking workers "who have done a fantastic job to keep the NHS operational and are looking after the public day in, day out". He added: "I'm here to support them on their wage claim. I'm here to support them on the fact that they need more resources.
"We need to get the NHS in a fit and proper place, because at this moment in time, the NHS isn't on its knees, it's worse. It's actually collapsing beneath our feet. The Government needs to support these people who supported the general public and continue to do so."
Referring to the Government's plan to discuss next year's wages but not this year's, he added: "That's just not gonna wash with ambulance workers."
The Westminster Government has said it will only discuss next year’s pay rather than pay for the current year which is at the heart of the disputes. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Friday said the Government would not fund big pay rises through “inflationary” borrowing.
“We should listen to the very clear warning from the Bank of England governor yesterday, who said that if you fund higher wage settlements through borrowing that is inflationary,” he told broadcasters.
Asked if that meant no more money for striking workers, the Chancellor said: “It’s not a no, it’s saying we’ll talk about absolutely anything, except things that will dig in the very high inflation that is causing people to see the cost of their weekly shop go up and the value of their wages erode.”
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