Welsh ambulance staff suspend planned strike
WELSH ambulance workers in the GMB Union, who were set to go on strike again next Wednesday, have suspended the planned action.
Staff in Wales and England walked out on Wednesday this week, and had another strike planned for next week.
GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison said: “We are overwhelmed by Wednesday’s amazing public support for our paramedics and ambulance staff.
“People across the country have been wonderful in backing us and we care so much about them too.
“We know the public will appreciate being able to enjoy Christmas without any additional anxiety.
“They support us and we support them.
“The workforce crisis in our NHS is so severe and our commitment to getting ambulance staff the proper pay they deserve is stronger than ever, so we are scheduling a further date for action on January 11, 2023.
“The incredible British public are why we are suspending our action over the Christmas period.
“But, it also means the government can now do what ambulance workers and the public want – get round the table and talk pay now. We are here 24/7. Any time, any place.”
The Unison union has announced a separate strike in England on January 11 and 23 and Welsh Ambulance Service workers in the Unite union also voted this week to strike, which is expected to take place in the new year.
Meanwhile, the Royal College of Nursing has announced a new set of strikes in January unless pay negotiations are opened – but only in England. The strikes follow two days of industrial action in Wales, England and Northern Ireland on December 15 and 20.
Nurses on the picket lines in December told us about the understaffing, low pay and appalling conditions they face at work.
RCN members in England will go on strike on January 18 and 19. The RCN has also warned that further strike dates will be confirmed in the new year.
No new strike dates have been announced for Wales, but the situation isn’t much better than in England.
Mark Drakeford has said the Welsh Government couldn’t afford to pay nurses the increase of 19% that they’re asking for (which is around 8% higher than inflation), with the Welsh Government offering an increase between 4% and 5.5%.
RCN general secretary and chief executive Pat Cullen said: “The UK Government had the opportunity to end this dispute before Christmas but instead they have chosen to push nursing staff out into the cold again in January.
“I do not wish to prolong this dispute, but the Prime Minister has left us with no choice.
“The public support has been heart-warming and I am more convinced than ever that this is the right thing to do for patients and the future of the NHS. The voice of nursing will not be ignored.
“Staff shortages and low pay make patient care unsafe – the sooner ministers come to the negotiating table, the sooner this can be resolved. I will not dig in if they don’t dig in.”
The RCN claims salaries for experienced nurses are 20% lower in real terms than in 2010, due to “successive below-inflation pay awards”.
RCN members in Scotland have rejected the Scottish Government’s latest pay offer and will join the picket “should strike action be escalated”.
■ Don’t miss our interview with the First Minister in Monday’s Mail