Unions representing NHS staff are “fed up of being talked down to” by “public schoolboys" in the Government who "don't care about workers' rights", a union boss has said.
Andy Prendergast, national secretary of trade union GMB, said that ministers "have to start listening" to NHS workers after the union announced that 10,000 ambulance workers voted to strike across nine trusts in England and Wales.
It comes just days after the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) confirmed that thousands of their members would stage a walkout across Britain’s hospitals on December 15 and 20 in a dispute over pay.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said on Tuesday that the pay demands being made by health unions were “unaffordable” and that strikes were in “nobody’s best interests as we approach a challenging winter”.
But Mr Prendergast claimed that Tory ministers had not attempted to engage with unions over pay and said the strikes were "a cry for help”.
“Even Winston Churchill talked about the right to strike being a fundamental one, and yet we have a load of public schoolboys who run the Government who quite frankly are not interested in listening," he told Sky News.
“They have to start listening. This is an issue that affects every single person in Britain. So many of us rely on the NHS.
“When we call 999, we’re speaking to call handlers who are often paid less than £10.50 [an hour] – something has to change."
He added: "Quite frankly, we’re getting fed up with being talked down to by the Government who seem completely in the dark about the problems.
“We’ve come to the view that they simply don’t care, and this isn’t good enough. It’s not good enough for patients, it’s not good enough for staff, it’s not good enough for anyone – we pay our taxes and we deserve better.”
Paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff will walk out in nine trusts, including South East Coast Ambulance Service, South Central Ambulance Service, West Midlands Ambulance Service and South West Ambulance Service. Workers at the London Ambulance Service (LAS) will not be involved in the strikes.
NHS bosses fear that a coordinated strike by multiple health unions could maximise disruption in the health service. The NHS is preparing for the likely cancellation of thousands of operations and appointments next month, with midwives, physiotherapists and cleaning staff also voting on industrial action.
In London, nurses will strike at four trusts: Great Ormond Street, Guy’s and St Thomas’, Imperial College and the Royal Marsden. Industrial action will also take place at the North Central London integrated care board (ICB).
The “war rooms” will be run by senior clinicians and managers so decisions can be made to divert ambulances or organise “mutual aid” between hospitals, and more support for staff.
