LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 21: Ambulance service workers and Unison U.K. public-sector union members … [+]
Ambulance workers in England and Wales have voted to strike in the new year as pay disputes with the government continues.
Members of the Unison union will restrict their activities in England on January 11 and 23, with around 1,000 workers in Wales set to strike on dates that are yet to be announced.
Leaders at nursing union the Royal College of Nursing have also threatened to call for more industrial action in the new year.
Union leaders argue a planned pay rise of around 4% is a real-terms pay cut, given inflation has risen dramatically in the country in recent months. In November, inflation hit 10.7%.
Meanwhile, staff continue to endure extremely pressurised work environments as hospitals battle crises in both planned and emergency care.
There are many factors behind the country’s health woes, including longstanding staff shortages, high demand, sicker patients and poor patient flow through hospitals.
Public hospitals are already reeling from both nursing and ambulance strikes held earlier this week.
Union leaders say further strikes are “inevitable” if government continues to refuse to negotiate on pay.
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said in a statement: “It’s only through talks that this dispute will end. No health workers want to go out on strike again in the new year.”
She went on to criticise Health Secretary Steve Barclay, who said unions had made a “conscious choice to inflict harm on patients” in a column in The Telegraph earlier this week.
She added: “This year’s pay rise simply wasn’t enough to halt the exodus of staff from the [National Health Service].
“The government should right that wrong with an increase better matching inflation. Only then will vacancy rates reduce, allowing the NHS to get back on track and start delivering safe patient care once more.”
Some politicians, including members of the ruling Conservative Party, have called on the government to negotiate with unions to bring an end to healthcare strikes.
Last week, former Conservative Party chair Sir Jake Berry told Times Radio: “Machismo and sort of chest beating and ‘we’ll take the unions on’ doesn’t work. You only get these things sorted out by talking.”
But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has consistently defended existing pay proposals, describing them as “higher than what many people in the private sector” have received.
Defending striking workers, a Welsh government spokesperson told the BBC: “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.”
The country is facing a wave of industrial action beyond healthcare, with postal, rail, border security and other workers also set to strike over the festive period.
Most unions are asking for wage increases as soaring inflation in areas from energy prices to interest rates are driving a rapid increase in the cost of living.
