Industrial action which had been set to involve the North East Ambulance Service and NHS workers at the NHS Blood and Transplant agency in Newcastle has been called off.
This comes after what one union leader called a "huge shift" in the Government's position. Negotiations are set to take place between the Government and unions UNISON and GMB - while ministers have said cash is available for potential pay rises covering both this year and next.
However, elsewhere in the country, strikes by members of the Unite union will go ahead.
Last week, strikes from nurses part of the Royal College of Nursing were also suspended after the Government held talks on pay. Now both UNISON and the GMB have agreed to sit down with ministers too. GMB ambulance staff had been due to walk out in the North East on Monday, followed by their UNISON counterparts on Wednesday.
Wednesday would also have seen Newcastle based NHS Blood and Transplant staff who are members of UNISON also walk out, as the union now has a strike mandate from its members there.
GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison said the Government’s latest concession marks a “huge shift” in its position. She said: “GMB ambulance workers announced a tightening of the derogations for cover on strike days.
"Less than 24 hours later we received a letter from the Secretary of State for Health, Steve Barclay, inviting us and other unions to pay talks. This is a huge shift from the Government, who for months have refused to consider negotiations on pay. Now they are saying they are willing to sit down and talk.
“The Government has given assurances of additional cash for both years above existing budgets and that any deal will respect the existing Agenda for Change structure. GMB’s ambulance workers have agreed to suspend industrial action so talks can begin – however the strike will return with a vengeance should talks break down."
Writing on Twitter, the union thanked ambulance workers for “standing strong” along with the “fantastic support of the public” for convincing ministers to “talk pay”.
Unison’s Sara Gorton said that industrial action would resume if discussions – which are due to take place over the weekend – are not “meaningful”. She said: “Proper pay talks should have started months ago, long before the first strike was called. That would have avoided days of disruption for the NHS and its patients.
“Whether the talks signal the beginning of the end of the current dispute will emerge in the coming days. If a deal can be reached, strikes can end and everyone can work together again to ensure the NHS gets back on track. However, when we get in the room, we’ll quickly learn whether the talks can be meaningful. If not, Unison will be forced to resume strike action. Nobody wants that."
The DHSC has also said it is open to discussions about improvements to ambulance workers’ terms and conditions, according to GMB.
Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive at NHS Providers – which represents trusts, welcomed the suspension of ambulance strikes, but stressed that industrial action by junior doctors “continues to loom large”.
The Department of Health and Social Care said ministers were willing to meet unions this weekend. A spokesperson said: “We’re pleased that Agenda for Change unions representing the majority of ambulance workers, nurses, physiotherapists, porters, cleaners and other non-medical staff have agreed to pause strikes and enter a process of intensive talks.
“We want to start these talks as soon as possible and are ready to meet over the weekend. We want to find a fair and reasonable settlement that recognises the vital role of NHS workers, the wider economic pressures facing the UK and the Prime Minister’s priority to halve inflation."
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