GMB union members working for North East Ambulance Service again took to picket lines across the North East as their pay dispute with the Government shows no sign of ending.
Workers were at picket lines at ambulance stations from Gateshead and Hebburn to North Shields and Bishop Auckland. The GMB union has held a number of strike days in recent weeks, but there has been no sign of resolution to the pay dispute.
The GMB said more than 11,000 of its ambulance workers will walk out in England and Wales, including paramedics, emergency care assistants and call handlers, with ambulance workers in the Unite union in parts of the country also on strike.
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Junior doctors in the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) in England have also announced in recent hours that they will go on strike in March. This highlights how the NHS looks set to remain in the midst of a series of increasingly bitter pay disputes over the coming weeks.
Royal College of Nursing (RCN) nurses also last week said they would take part in "escalated" strike action for 48 hours from March 1. This will see critical care and emergency nursing staff involved for the firs time.
Monday's action from the GMB is the latest in a series of walkouts over the Government's offer of a pay rise of around 4% for last year. Unions argue this is substantially below inflation and leading to a "staff exodus" set against the rising cost-of-living.
The first strike day for the ambulance service took place on December 21, with further dates in January. There are two more GMB strikes in the diary at this stage affecting North East Ambulance Service - on March 6 and March 20.
GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison said: "It’s been over a month since the Government engaged in any meaningful dialogue. They are missing in action and refuse to talk pay.
"There’s a recruitment crisis in the NHS. Solving the issue of pay is vital if we’re going to stem the tide of dedicated healthcare workers leaving the profession. The public back ambulance workers. The Government must listen to them and talk pay now."
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “Strikes are in nobody’s best interests and only cause further disruption for patients, despite contingency measures in place.
“It is time unions engaged constructively with the pay review body process for 2023/24 and cancelled strikes so we can move forward and continue tackling the Covid backlog.
“I’ve been clear throughout that I remain keen to keep talking to unions about what is fair and affordable for the coming financial year, as well as wider concerns around conditions and workload so we can make the NHS a better place to work.”
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