Ambulance workers in Wales have voted to strike again days after their first day of industrial action. Unite said that workers including paramedics, EMTs and emergency call handling staff voted by 88% to strike and will announce dates for action in the new year.
It means that around 1,000 Welsh Ambulance Service (WAS) members could take part strike, along with more than 1,600 ambulance workers and Unite members in England. It comes as the union claims that where they once saw 10 patients a day, often they can now deal with only one per shift, spending hours and even whole days at a time sitting outside A&E with patients waiting to be seen.
They are calling for the Welsh Government to put a better pay deal on the table to solve the crisis with recruitment and retention issues that the union says is "crippling" the ambulance service. It added that Unite members in the Welsh Ambulance Service claim many Red and Amber calls, the most serious and life threatening of categories, are not being responded to quickly enough and sometimes not at all.
Unite regional officer Richard Munn said: “The last thing our Welsh Ambulance Service workers want to do is strike. But they know they have to take a stand to prevent the NHS from total collapse. As with all NHS strikes, life and limb cover will be provided and ambulance workers will stand ready on the picket line to respond to calls if they are needed.”
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Speaking on Wednesday, a spokesperson for WAS urged people to call 999 only in a "life-threatening emergency". They said: "Planning began as soon as the industrial action was announced, and those plans are now being deployed across Wales. Demand continues to be managed, but any influx of calls would put significant pressure on our service, so please only call 999 in a life-threatening emergency. We thank all our people, staff and volunteers, who are working hard to provide the best possible service under the circumstances.”
Earlier this week, GMB Union members took strike action in protest against the Welsh Government's pay offer of a £1,400 pay increase to most NHS staff - equivalent to a 7.5% increase for lower-paid staff in Bands 1 to 4 and a 4% increase in Bands 6-7. Some employees say this is not enough when compared to the current inflation rate of around 10.6% but no further offers have been put on the table. The Welsh Government claims it cannot address the pay issue without extra help from the UK government.
Speaking previously about strike action by ambulance workers, A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We recognise why so many ambulance workers voted the way they did and the anger and disappointment many public sector workers are feeling at the moment. We believe our emergency services should be fairly rewarded for their important work but our current financial settlement falls far short of what is needed to meet the very significant challenges faced by our public services and workers across Wales. We value social partnership and we continue to meet the trade unions to discuss a range of issues affecting the workforce.”
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