‘Don’t waste the weekend’, says Unite chief as ambulance workers
set to join striking nurses on 21 December
The general secretary of Unite the union, Sharon Graham, has
today (Friday) called on the Conservative government not
to ‘waste the weekend’ but to convene NHS pay talks or
see the strikes spread.
Unite’s members across three English ambulance trusts are set to
walk out on 21 December over the government’s refusal
to shift on its four per cent pay offer. Unite says this is a 10
per cent pay cut while the real rate of inflation, RPI, runs at
14 per cent.
Ambulance staff have seen their wages collapse in value this
year, down by £2,400, with NHS pay having fallen by £6,000 since
2010.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The government
now has five days to do the responsible thing by the
country.
“It must not waste this weekend. Ministers need to give
themselves a shake and get into serious pay talks or see this
strike spread next week.
“Anyone with a passing knowledge of the NHS can see that this
government has brought it to its knees. A decade of pay cuts
and a chronic staffing shortage is crushing our NHS and putting
patients’ lives at risk. Our NHS members feel that they are
fighting to save the very NHS itself.
“Unless the government shapes up, this strike will deepen next
week and the blame for this will lie firmly at ministers’
door.”
Having voted by up to 92 per cent for strike action, more than
1,600 workers at the West Midlands, North West and North East
ambulance service trusts will strike on Wednesday 21 December
2022.
Jason Kirkham, a Unite member and a paramedic in the West
Midlands, added: “This strike isn’t just about pay - it is
to save the NHS. The NHS is crumbling, we can’t recruit and
retain staff as pay is so low.
“It has got so bad that we have had to open a food bank in my
ambulance station.”
Throughout the strike, Unite will ensure essential emergency
cover for patients. This is being negotiated with the
relevant NHS trusts.
