Union wants double-digit rise as ambulance staff strike

AN NHS union leader has suggested her members would take a 10 per cent pay rise, as ambulance workers across the country walk out today.

Sharon Graham, the general-secretary of the Unite trade union, put a figure on her organisation’s pay demands for the first time as she insisted the increase “can be afforded”.

Five thousand members of Unite and the GMB union working at hospital trusts in Liverpool have joined as many as 15,000 Unison ambulance staff in their strike action today, which will be followed by fresh nursing strikes across dozens of hospitals next month.

Ms Graham told Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “It’s really clear that what we’re talking about is a double-digit pay rise.

“The RCN (Royal College of Nursing) have already said they’d meet them halfway. I don’t know how many more hints they want to take on that.

“If they came in the room and they offered a double-digit pay rise, we would take that back to our members and our members would make the decision.” The RCN is demanding an inflation-busting pay rise of 19 per cent for its members but Pat Cullen, its leader, indicated earlier this month she could be willing to accept an uplift of as little as 10 per cent.

Ministers have offered NHS staff a pay rise of 4.5 per cent in line with the recommendations of an independent pay review. The annual level of inflation currently stands at 10.5 per cent.

Ms Graham also urged Labour to “come out” and say it would give a 10 per cent rise to striking staff amid the opposition’s continued silence on how much it would offer.

But Pat Mcfadden, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, declined to answer repeated questions from Sky about what his party would offer.

“I can name any per cent you want me to – 20, 50 – but the fact is because we’re in opposition it doesn’t get the nurses an extra penny,” he said.

“Labour coming out with a percentage doesn’t make any difference to these strikes. What would make a difference in the longer term is a Government that really backs public services. A figure from the opposition would be pretty meaningless because we’re not party to negotiations.”