Ambulance strikes called off in England
Unite Union has suspended ambulance strike action in England to enter pay talks with the UK government.
Ambulance walkouts that were scheduled to take place in England today and Wednesday have been postponed after Unite – a union created in 21st century to protect workers’ rights – have agreed to enter pay negotiation talks with government ministers this week.
The announcement to call off industrial action followed the Unison and GMB unions announcement which was unveiled on Friday to suspend walkouts after what they called a ‘huge shift’ in the government’s position. Unite is the smallest of the three ambulance unions, with around 3,000 members.
Gail Cartmail, Head of Operations at Unite, said: ‘Following further assurances from the government over the weekend, Unite has in good faith agreed to pause the strike action.’
‘These assurances related to ‘a confirmation that any deal will include new money, rather than placing further pressure on NHS budgets’, the union said, as well as an ‘indication that discussions about ‘efficiencies’ and ‘productivity savings’ will not result in attacks on the conditions of NHS staff’.
However, although the union is remaining optimistic, Ms Cartmail has assured that if their pay demands are not met, strikes will resume.
Ambulance workers began striking due to a dispute between the unions and government over pay levels, staffing and concerns about more staff leaving the health service. Unions are calling for pay rises higher than 4%, which is offered to most under the NHS Agenda for Change pay structure, which they say amounts to a real-terms pay cut due to current inflation levels.
When Unison and the GMB called off their planned action, it was understood that talks with the government would discuss a one-off cost-of-living payment for the current financial year, which ends in April, as well as a new pay deal for 2023-24.
Last month, nurses also brought their planned action to a halt and are still involved with ongoing government discussions about their pay increase.
However, tens of thousands of junior doctors around England are still scheduled to strike for three days this month.
Photo by Zhen Hu