More than 10,000 ambulance staff in England and Wales join latest wave of strikes
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Union leaders have accused Health Secretary Steve Barclay of “complete and utter fabrication” amid strikes by ambulance staff in England and Wales.
Barclay accused unions of making a “conscious decision” to “inflict harm” on patients as thousands strike over disputes over pay, staff and working conditions.
Rachel Harrison, national secretary of the GMB union, said: “Ambulance workers are seething at such a crude and insulting attempt to divert attention from the government’s continued chaos in the NHS.”
Christina McAnea, Unison’s general secretary, said unions have been negotiating with the government for weeks to put contingency plans in place and “to suggest anything else is a disgrace”.
“If anyone is responsible for what’s going on it’s the Westminster government who have flatly refused to talk to us about anything to do with pay,” he added.
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Meet the picket line paramedics who warn the ambulance service is at ‘breaking point’
Striking ambulance workers have warned the service is at “breaking point” as thousands of workers walk out across the country.
In Coventry, paramedics and union leaders accused the government of “criminal negligence”, saying its action was the result of the Tories “emptying” the NHS.
Jenny Withall, a paramedic since 2016, joined her colleagues for two hours outside Coventry Ambulance HQ before returning to work when she received a 999 call.
“I’m calling to try and fix the NHS and help people who are struggling because we’re not getting too much because of working conditions,” the 32-year-old said.
Furvah Shah December 21, 2022 3:10 pm
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Ambulance workers on strike have been forced to leave the picket line to attend to emergencies
Striking ambulance staff have been forced to leave their pickets to attend to emergency calls, a union official said.
Before the strikes began, union officials said they would continue to respond to all Category 1 calls, the most life-threatening requests such as cardiac arrest.
Nathan Holman, the South West and Wales representative of the GMB Union, said all of his striking members had to be called outside the picket line in Cardiff to attend emergency calls.
Furvah Shah December 21, 2022 2:55 pm
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“We’ve had enough,” says the ambulance staff
Ambulance staff say they have “had enough” of poor pay and working conditions as they press ahead with planned strike action.
Eddie Brand, 57, an emergency medical technician and Unison branch secretary at the London Ambulance Service (LAS), has worked in the NHS for 36 years.
Speaking from the picket line outside LAS headquarters in Waterloo, London, he told the PA news agency: “We’ve had enough.”
“We’ve had enough of 12 years of wage increases below inflation, we’ve had enough of workloads, we’ve had enough of being treated unfairly.
“There are a lot of different things going on within the ambulance service not caused by the service but caused by government decisions that have been made.”
Furvah Shah December 21, 2022 2:40 pm
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Ambulance strikes: what level of service is there in your area today?
Thousands of NHS ambulance staff are walking out across England and Wales in a planned strike over pay and working conditions.
The strike by around 25,000 members of the GMB, Unite and Unison unions will cause delays and disruption, with the public being warned to only call 999 in an emergency.
Joe Sommerlad has more on how Wednesday’s demonstrations will affect emergency services across the country, region by region.
Furvah Shah December 21, 2022 2:20 pm
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What do the striking ambulance staff demand?
Thousands of NHS ambulance staff are walking out across England and Wales in a planned strike over pay and working conditions.
The strike by around 25,000 members of the GMB, Unite and Unison unions will cause delays and disruption, with the public being warned to only call 999 in an emergency.
Staff are demanding better wages, working conditions and staff.
Furvah Shah December 21, 2022 2:00 p.m
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The union boss says the strikes could continue into the new year with more staff
Christina McAnea, general secretary of the Unison union, said her members could continue their strike in the new year if the government does not negotiate.
He told the PA news agency: “I sincerely hope that today’s action – which we all wanted to avoid – will be enough to tell the government to back off and stop spreading all this aggressive and misleading information about the strikes and the ambulance workers. , and sit down and talk to us rationally.
“If this does not happen, we will look at our tactics going forward and I believe we will have no alternative but to step up action and take further action in the new year.”
He added that while staff will still respond to emergency calls, many more, such as 999 call handlers and triage workers, could also join future strikes.
“We wouldn’t want to take them on strike, but we will talk to them about whether they want to,” he said. “That would not be my decision. That will be the members providing the services; it will be their decision as to whether they want to increase it.”
Furvah Shah December 21, 2022 1:40 pm
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In pictures: Ambulance workers strike in England
Thousands of ambulance staff are on strike in England and Wales today over a dispute with the government over pay and working conditions.
Staff in London, Coventry, Liverpool and elsewhere are only responding to emergency calls, with the public being advised to avoid risks and “use common sense” during the strikes.
(REUTERS)
(REUTERS)
Unite members hold a banner calling for a pay rise for NHS workers
(Joseph Walshe SWNS)
(PA)
Furvah Shah December 21, 2022 1:15 p.m
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Unions outraged as Health Secretary says they have ‘chosen to do harm’
Unions have expressed outrage at health secretary Steve Barclay’s comments on ambulance strikes.
He said unions had made a “conscious choice to inflict harm” on patients in comments made to The Daily Telegraph.
Rachel Harrison, national secretary of the GMB union, said: “Ambulance workers are seething at such a crude and insulting attempt to divert attention from the government’s continued chaos in the NHS.
“The public knows that it is not ambulance workers who have presided over a decade of failure. Already today paramedics and ambulance workers have walked off the pickets to attend to emergency calls.
“They will always put the public first. It’s time for the government to follow suit.”
Furvah Shah December 21, 2022 1:05 p.m
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Union leader accuses Health Secretary Steve Barclay of ‘complete and utter fabrication’
Christina McAnea, Unison’s general secretary, has accused Health Secretary Steve Barclay of “complete and utter fabrication” amid the strikes.
He said on the picket line in Waterloo, London, on Wednesday: “I saw the Secretary of State yesterday and he didn’t talk to us about pay. He made it absolutely clear that he wouldn’t talk to us about pay, but other than that (he be a reasonably friendly meeting.”
She said she told him how they were making strikes all over the country safe and he “acknowledged it”.
“So when I saw what he had written last night and what he’s been saying today, I was totally shocked. It is a complete and utter fabrication.
“He knows very well that we’ve been negotiating for the last two or three weeks that when our members are going on strike to put contingency plans in place and to suggest anything else is disgraceful, that’s creating fear, that’s making people be even more afraid than they are now.
“If anyone is responsible for the things that are happening it is the Westminster government who have flatly refused to talk to us about anything related to the payment.”
Furvah Shah December 21, 2022 1:00 p.m
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Scottish nurses and midwives reject government pay offer
Nurses and midwives in Scotland have rejected the government’s latest pay offer.
More than 60 per cent of the Royal College of Nurses and the Royal College of Midwives voted against accepting the latest offer, which they say did little to improve pay.
Jaki Lambert, RCM director for Scotland, said: “Our members have spoken loud and clear: the Scottish Government’s latest pay offer is simply not good enough. It fails to address the rising cost of life and I would see many midwives worse off in real terms.”
Julie Lamberth, Chair of RCN Scotland’s Board, said: We have strongly rejected what the Scottish Government said was its “best and final” offer.
“Make no mistake, we don’t want to go on strike. Years of undervaluation and understaffing have made us feel we have no alternative because enough is enough. The ball is in the Scottish Government’s court if a strike is to be avoided” .
Furvah Shah December 21, 2022 12:40 pm