Thousands of paramedics and nurses are set to go on strike on the same day next month, and massive disruptions are expected across the NHS.
About 10,000 paramedics, assistants, rescuers and other emergency personnel will line up. February 6th, February 20th, March 6th and March 20th.This was announced by the trade union GMB.
The nurses are on strike too February 6 and 7in the escalating strike of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).
The GMB announcement came after a series of strikes in December 2022 and January 2023 failed to resolve a bitter dispute over wages and personnel.
Funding is provided for the following services:
- Southwest Ambulance Service
- Southeast Coast Ambulance Service
- Ambulance Service North West
- South Central Ambulance Service
- Ambulance North East
- East Midlands Ambulance Service
- Welsh Ambulance Service
- Yorkshire Ambulance Service
In addition, the West Midlands Ambulance Service is organizing strikes. January 23 and the union workers of the Northwestern Ambulance Service will go on strike. January 24.
“Given the inaction of the government, we have no choice but to go on strike,” said Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary. She described the paramedics as “enraged” and said they were “decided” not to let her relapse.
“Our message to government is clear: talk now, pay now,” Ms Harrison said. “Ministers made matters worse by demonizing the paramedics who covered life and health during strike days by playing political games with their scare tactics.
“The only way to resolve this dispute is to offer reasonable wages. But the cold, dead hands of 10 and 11 Downing Street seem to get in the way.”
A new wave of strikes was announced shortly after Rishi Sunak clashed with Sir Keir Starmer over waiting times for ambulances in the House of Commons.
Sir Keir repeatedly asked the prime minister how long it would take for an ambulance to reach a heart attack patient and urged him to apologize for the “deadly chaos” in the NHS under his care.
Mr Sunak accused the Labor leader of playing “political games” and said patients in the Welsh National Health Service were also suffering from “labor flight”.
Thousands of nurses across England are organizing new strikes on Wednesday and Thursday demanding higher wages, while teachers in England and Wales have voted overwhelmingly to strike in the coming months.
Education unions met with Education Secretary Gillian Keegan for crisis talks to avoid a seven-day strike over teachers’ salaries and ensure schools remain open to as many children as possible. No progress has been made in negotiations, according to the NAHT union.
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.