Almost 1,500 employees of the Welsh Ambulance Service are set to vote on whether to take strike action, it has been announced. The GMB Union has launched a formal industrial action ballot, with the dates to be announced in the coming days.
The vote comes following a consultative ballot which saw 90% of GMB's Welsh Ambulance Service members vote in favour of a walkout. Paramedics and other ambulance workers are angry at the Welsh Government's imposed 4% pay award which leaves them facing yet another real-terms pay cut.
GMB is calling on the UK and Welsh governments to uplift the pay for hard-pressed ambulance staff. Kelly Andrews, GMB organiser, said: "Unfortunately 4% is like sticking a plaster on an open wound - it's not going to help. Ambulance staff are at the forefront of our emergency services, and already underpaid and undervalued for the work they do. The and UK and Welsh governments need to come back to the table with something that recognises their hard work, plain and simple."
