Ambulance staff in Wales to stage two days of industrial action this month in pay row
Ambulance workers across Wales will stage industrial action later this month amid calls for a fair pay rise.
Almost 1,500 paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff will strike on 21 and 28 December, from 12.01am until 11.59pm each day.
Last week, it was announced that workers from the Welsh Ambulance Service had voted to strike over the Welsh Government’s imposed four per cent pay award – which unions say is “another massive pay cut” in real terms.
GMB union representatives will now meet with the service to discuss requirements for “life and limb” cover for the highest category calls on the chosen strike days.
Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said: “Ambulance workers – like other NHS workers – are on their knees.
“No one in the NHS takes strike action lightly – today shows just how desperate they are.
“This is as much about unsafe staffing levels and patient safety as it is about pay. A third of GMB ambulance workers think delays they’ve been involved with have led to the death of a patient.
“Something has to change or the service as we know it will collapse.
“GMB calls on the government to avoid a winter of NHS strikes by negotiating a pay award that these workers deserve.”
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