NHS strikes not just about pay, says union official

The Welsh government said it would consider the next steps once other unions had considered the pay offer

Improving NHS workers' pay conditions could be key to settling strike action, according to a union official.

Ambulance technician Giles George said shift workers received up to 20% more on their pay which was lost for six weeks if they had to take sick leave.

Mr George, a GMB official in Knighton, Powys, said removing that could "sway" workers who have rejected a 3% offer.

The Welsh government said it would consider the next steps once other unions had considered the pay offer.

GMB ambulance staff will be joined on the picket line on Monday by colleagues represented by the union Unite, which is holding a three-day walk out.

The GMB said 66% of its members voted against the offer for 2022-23, which meant an extra 3% - 1.5% of which will be in pay every year - on top of an average 4.5% that was paid to health workers last autumn.

Mr George said part of the talks with the government had been about changing some pay conditions.

"It's unfair that if you are ill through no fault of your own that you then lose part of your pay," he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

• Ambulance strike badly disrupted service - bosses

• Ambulance workers to strike after rejecting offer

GMB and Unite union members are striking on Monday while Unison staff are being balloted on the pay offer

Mr George said some terms and conditions had been in place for 20 years and it was time for change.

He said similar discussions in Scotland included reducing the working week to 36 hours which "would definitely sway" colleagues who have rejected the Welsh government's latest offer.

The Welsh government said: "We believe the offer, equivalent to an extra 3% - 1.5% of which will be in pay every year - is a strong one.

"This is on top of the 4.5% average pay rise for 2022-23, which has already been awarded.

"This is the best offer we can make in our current funding settlement.

"We have drawn together all our available funding from across the Welsh government to make this improved offer to try and resolve the dispute.

"We will wait for the views of other health trade union colleagues who continue to discuss this offer before considering the next steps."

A third ambulance workers' union in Wales, Unison, is re-balloting members after failing to win a mandate for strike action last year.

Sonia Thompson from the Welsh Ambulance Service encouraged the public to "only call us in a life or limb-threatening emergency" during the strike action between Monday and Wednesday.