2,000 EMAS workers to join ambulance strikes as union demands better pay

Ambulance workers across the country have voted in favour of strike action in the build-up to Christmas, affecting nine trusts in England and Wales, including East Midlands Ambulance Service covering Lincolnshire.

The strikes have been called by members of the GMB Union, with more than 10,000 ambulance workers voting to go on strike over pay conditions.

The union claims that the government’s imposed 4% pay award for staff translates to a real terms pay cut in line with inflation and considering the current rising cost of living.

It will involve around 2,000 paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff from East Midlands Ambulance Service – which operates in and around Lincolnshire.

Dates have not yet been confirmed, but the GMB will now meet with regional reps in the coming days to discuss potential days before Christmas.

| Screenshot: BBC Look North/BBC News Hub

Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said: “Ambulance workers – like other NHS workers – are on their knees.

“Demoralised and downtrodden, they’ve faced twelve years of Conservative cuts to the service and their pay packets, fought on the frontline of a global pandemic and now face the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

“No one in the NHS takes strike action lightly – today shows just how desperate they are.

“This is as much about unsafe staffing levels and patient safety as it is about pay. A third of GMB ambulance workers think delays they’ve been involved with have led to the death of a patient.

“Something has to change or the service as we know it will collapse. GMB calls on the government to avoid a winter of NHS strikes by negotiating a pay award that these workers deserve.”

EMAS has responded by saying that NHS pay is agreed nationally, and that they will do everything possible to “minimise the impact” on patients.

Tina Richardson, Deputy Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development at East Midlands Ambulance Service, said: “NHS pay levels are agreed at a national level and are therefore negotiated nationally for NHS employees.

“We recognise that this is a very challenging time for all of our people. We fully respect the right of NHS staff to take lawful industrial action, but we urge national trade union representatives to reach a negotiated settlement to the dispute as quickly as possible.

“During this period of the dispute, we will do all we can to minimise the impact on our patients and will continue to work very closely with our Trade Union colleagues and NHS Employers and carry on supporting the wellbeing of our staff.”

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