Fresh strike hell for NHS: Over 11,000 ambulance workers walkout TODAY

2023-02-20

Fresh strike hell for NHS: More than 11,000 ambulance workers walkout TODAY – on same day ballot of 45,000 junior doctors will down tools for the first time in their union’s history

More than 11,000 ambulance workers will strike across England and Wales today
Read more: Striking nurses will be paid 60 per cent more while on the picket line

More than 11,000 ambulance workers will walkout today in the long-running dispute over pay and staffing, as junior doctors prepare to announce their own industrial action.

Paramedics, emergency care assistants and call handlers from Unite and the GMB will strike across England and Wales, in yet another blow for NHS services as tens of thousands of operations are cancelled.

It comes as junior doctors in the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) in England have said they will strike for the first time in the union’s history on March 15.

Around 45,000 junior doctors who are members of the British Medical Association (BMA) in England have also been balloted on strike action with the result to be announced later today. The union has already warned it will stage a three-day strike if there is a yes vote.

More than 11,000 ambulance workers will walkout today in the long-running dispute over pay and staffing in yet another blow for NHS services. Pictured: Unison Ambulance Crew outside the London Ambulance Service HQ on February 10

Paramedics, emergency care assistants and call handlers from Unite and the GMB will strike across England and Wales today. Pictured: Unison Ambulance Crew outside the London Ambulance station in Camden on February 10

The 11,000 ambulance staff will walk out of the ambulance trust in Wales and in seven of the ten trusts in England today. Pictured: British ambulance drivers and emergency medical personnel on the picket lines in London on February 10

Ambulance staff will walk out of the ambulance trust in Wales and in seven of the ten trusts in England today.

Ambulance strikes in Scotland have been called off after a pay rise of 14 per cent over two years was offered.

But Welsh Unite members will walk out again on Tuesday and Wednesday as they battle to secure a similar pay offer.

Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary, accused the Government of being ‘tin-eared’, adding: ‘It’s been over a month since the Government engaged in any meaningful dialogue.

‘They are missing in action and refuse to talk pay.’

Today’s action comes as more strikes could be in the works as junior doctors and nurses continue to strive for higher pay and better conditions.

With expectations of a big vote in favour of walkouts, the BMA has already warned it will stage a three-day strike if there is a yes vote.

The BMA’s most senior doctor accused the Prime Minister of being ‘thoughtless and bellicose’ in his refusal to find a workable agreement with NHS staff over pay and conditions.

Ambulances parked outside the West Midlands Ambulance Service headquarters in Coventry on December 21 as workers strike over pay

The GMB national secretary, accused the Government of being ‘tin-eared’, adding: ‘It’s been over a month since the Government engaged in any meaningful dialogue.’ Pictured: Workers on the picket line outside the Bromsgrove Ambulance Hub in the West Midlands on February 17

APHA workers begin second week of strike action today

Civil servants working for the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) begin their second week of strike action on Monday.

Members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) based in Bristol and Carlisle are taking action as part of a long-running dispute over pay, jobs, pensions and conditions in the civil service.

The union said strikes at APHA are believed to have already caused delays for imports and exports, including caviar.

A PCS spokesperson said: ‘Ministers should be ashamed that while some members of society are bemoaning a lack of caviar on their dinner plates, 40,000 of their own workforce are using food banks.

‘Our members should not be forced to choose between heating and eating – they should be paid a fair wage for the important work they do.’

The striking APHA workers join PCS members at the DVLA in Swansea and Birmingham who are also beginning a second week of action on Monday and Department for Work and Pensions staff in Liverpool who are part-way through a 20-day strike.

The strikes follow this weekend’s action by Border Force officials in Dover, Calais, Coquelles and Dunkirk that caused six-hour delays for travellers.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: ‘While we sympathise with travellers experiencing delays, the blame lies squarely with the Government.

‘Rishi Sunak has had months to resolve this dispute but refuses to meet us.

‘He can end the strikes tomorrow if he puts some money on the table.

‘Until he does, our strikes will continue because it is unacceptable that hard-working civil servants are being told to accept just a 2 per cent pay rise during a cost-of-living crisis when inflation is at 10 per cent.’

Workers at the Land Registry begin a five-day strike from February 27 while 100,000 PCS members will strike on Budget day, March 15.

An APHA spokesperson said: ‘We have plans in place to minimise any impact to our business-critical work during this industrial action. Whilst there will be disruption we have robust plans in place to ensure our ability to respond to reports of disease is maintained.

‘We are working across government with industry and external partners to ensure we continue to operate our core critical business during this period of industrial action and ensure impact to industry is minimised.’

Speaking at a young doctors’ conference in Bristol, Professor Philip Banfield, the BMA’s chairman of council, said Rishi Sunak and Health Secretary Steve Barclay are ‘standing on the precipice of an historic mistake’.

He said that refusing to enter meaningful negotiations with trade unions means the Government is ‘guaranteeing escalation’, while thinking they can stay silent and wait it out is ‘reckless’.

Prof Banfield said junior doctors deserve better and are not expensive for the expertise and skills they provide.

He accused the Government of ‘letting patients down’, adding: ‘All NHS staff are standing up for our patients in a system that seems to have forgotten that valuing staff and their well-being is directly linked to patient safety and better outcomes of care.

Striking nurses will also be paid 60 per cent more by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) than during previous walkouts, it has been revealed.

The RCN also disclosed that it has received £250,000 in donations from the public since starting its strike action for more pay in December.

The union is increasing the day rate for those on the picket line from £50 to £80.

Nurses who have already gone on strike for four days will get £120 a day as the RCN dips into a £50 million fighting fund before an unprecedented full 48-hour walkout on March 1.

The daily take-home pay of a nurse on the average salary of £36,000 is about £135, assuming a four-day working week.

A typical nurse who took part in all six strike days, plus the two in March, could in theory claim £540 in strike pay – but will have lost £1,080.

The RCN said the move is aimed at shoring up nurses’ resolve and to undermine the Government’s strategy to ‘wait out the strikes rather than negotiate’.

Public support for striking nurses remains the highest of any striking workforce, said the RCN.

The union said the decision to include emergency services, cancer care and other previously exempt services has rocked NHS managers, who are calling on the Government to settle the dispute or risk waiting times rising significantly as tens of thousands of operations are cancelled.

Hospital trusts have been told to submit a risk assessment of next month’s strikes to NHS England by midday on Monday.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘We hugely value the work of junior doctors and we have been clear that supporting and retaining the NHS workforce is one of our main priorities.

‘As part of a multi-year deal we agreed with the BMA, junior doctors’ pay has increased by a cumulative 8.2 per cent since 2019/20. We also introduced a higher pay band for the most experienced staff and increased rates for night shifts.

‘The Health and Social Care Secretary has met with the BMA and other medical unions to discuss pay, conditions and workload. He’s been clear he wants to continue discussing how we can make the make the NHS a better place to work for all.’

Striking nurses on the picket line outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London. Striking nurses will be paid 60 per cent more by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) than during previous walkouts, it has been revealed

Ambulance strikes in Scotland have been called off after a pay rise of 14 per cent over two years was offered

Meanwhile, civil servants working for the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) are beginning their second week of strike action.

The union said strikes at APHA are believed to have already caused delays for imports and exports, including caviar.

A PCS spokesperson said: ‘Ministers should be ashamed that while some members of society are bemoaning a lack of caviar on their dinner plates, 40,000 of their own workforce are using food banks.

‘Our members should not be forced to choose between heating and eating – they should be paid a fair wage for the important work they do.’

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