Unite say more than 1,000 workers employed by the South Central, South East Coast, and Yorkshire ambulance services have voted to join the ongoing NHS strikes
More ambulance workers have voted to strike in the long-running dispute over pay and staffing.
Unite said more than 1,000 workers employed by the South Central, South East Coast, and Yorkshire ambulance services have voted to join the ongoing NHS strikes.
The frontline workers will join around 2,800 of their colleagues in West Midlands, East Midlands, North West, North East, and Wales already striking over pay.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “These new ballot results show the growing angers and resentment among ambulance workers at grassroots levels. Our members can’t understand why the Government is missing in action and refusing to even enter talks to resolve this dispute.
“The Government is solely to blame for pushing the NHS to breaking point after years of pay and service cuts. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s refusal to negotiate an end to this dispute shows he doesn’t care or is out of his depth.”
Strike dates for South Central, South East Coast, and Yorkshire ambulances will be announced in the coming days.
Unite said its representatives will be working at a regional level to agree derogations to ensure that emergency life and limb cover will be in place during the strikes.
Other derogations will ensure that patients needing lifesaving treatment, such as renal care and cancer treatment, will be transported to their appointments.
Unite national lead officer Onay Kasab said: “Our members know that without a proper pay rise NHS job vacancies will continue to mount and the crisis in patient care will become a catastrophe.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub
