Ambulance workers in Wales vote to strike again in new year
- Published
The union Unite will announce strike dates early next year
Welsh ambulance workers are set to strike again after they voted by 88% for industrial action.
About 1,000 paramedics, medical technicians and call handling staff are among those expected to take action.
The Unite union will announce strike dates early next year after GMB members went out on Wednesday.
Ambulance staff in five areas of England are to stage two further strikes on 11 and 23 January, union leaders say.
Unite members in Wales said where they might have once seen 10 patients a day, they now might only deal with one because ambulances could spend whole days outside A&E.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Unite's ambulance service members in Wales are striking because they see first-hand every day how the NHS is collapsing.
"They are dedicated life-saving professionals and are taking this step because they know the NHS itself needs saving.
"The Welsh government must put a better offer on the table to help resolve the recruitment and retention crisis that is crippling the service."
She blamed the UK government for "years of destruction" inflicted on the NHS and called upon it to meet with unions to urgently address staff and pay levels.
UK government Health Secretary Steve Barclay has repeatedly said ambulance workers have already been given a pay rise recommended by an independent pay review body and any further increase was unaffordable.
Unite said nearly one in 10 posts - 132,000 positions - were now vacant and that October was the worst on record for meeting NHS targets.
Wales Ambulance Service's Unite members said many of the most serious calls were not being responded to fast enough and sometimes not at all.
Unite's 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."
He said life and limb cover would be provided and workers would be ready on the picket line to respond to calls if needed.
The Welsh government has given workers an average pay rise of 4.75%, but with inflation running at more than 10%, unions say this represents a pay cut in real terms.
The Welsh government said it recognised why ambulance workers voted the way they did and understood the anger and disappointment many public sector workers felt.
A spokesman said: "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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