Welsh ambulance workers stage latest strike over pay

Ambulance workers in Wales will stage a fresh strike today in the long running dispute over pay and staffing.

Welsh Ambulance Service workers will re-join their colleagues in England on the picket line after rejecting the Welsh Government’s revised pay offer which was tabled earlier this month.

They were offered an additional 3% pay increase, of which 1.5% would be consolidated in an effort to end the industrial dispute but the union’s membership rejected the deal.

The GMB said more than 11,000 of its ambulance workers will walk out in England and Wales, including paramedics, emergency care assistants and call handlers.

Ambulance workers in the Unite union in parts of the country will also be on strike.

Tin-eared

Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary, said: “Ambulance workers across England and Wales will strike today – entirely because this (UK) Government is tin-eared.

“It’s been over a month since the Government engaged in any meaningful dialogue. They are missing in action and refuse to talk pay.

“There’s a recruitment crisis in the NHS. Solving the issue of pay is vital if we’re going to stem the tide of dedicated healthcare workers leaving the profession.

“The public back ambulance workers. The Government must listen to them and talk pay now.”

UK Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Strikes are in nobody’s best interests and only cause further disruption for patients, despite contingency measures in place.

“It is time unions engaged constructively with the pay review body process for 2023/24 and cancelled strikes so we can move forward and continue tackling the Covid backlog.

“I’ve been clear throughout that I remain keen to keep talking to unions about what is fair and affordable for the coming financial year, as well as wider concerns around conditions and workload so we can make the NHS a better place to work.”