One of the unions representing Welsh Ambulance Service staff haas suspended a strike due at the start of the next week.
There have been on several strikes in recent months held by multiple unions representing ambulance workers. The grievances are not just around pay but the working conditions which see crews often waiting outside emergency units due to to an inability to discharge patients into hospitals.
In a statement the Unite Union said: "Unite has suspended its strike action at the Welsh Ambulance Service due to take place on Monday 20 March 2023. This follows continued progress in talks with the Welsh government. The pause in strike action will facilitate the continuation of these discussions."
You can read a breakdown of the challenges the ambulance service is facing here.
Yesterday the UK Government made a new pay offer to NHS workers in England, in a deal that unions say could end strike action over the border. The new pay deal will go out to a vote of NHS union members. This offer consists of a one off bonus this year of 2.5% for the best paid and 8.2% for the worst paid and comes on top of the 4% increase already implemented for 2022/23, the Mirror reports. Tense negotiations late into the night also resulted in an offer of a 5.2% rise for 2023/24 - an increase on the Government’s initial offer of 3.5%.
The Welsh Government says that it is unable to meet pay demands unless more money is received from Westminster. However Plaid Cymru have called on the Welsh Government to use its tax raising powers to increase the pay offer.
Read next:
Widow wants to sue health board over her husband's Covid death
Welsh schools hit as teachers strike in protest over 'adverse management practices' and workload
Woman spent £20k on cancer treatment in Germany because it's not available on the NHS
'My daughter took her own life at 14 and too many young people suffer the same pain'
