More ambulance workers to strike after early May bank holiday

Ambulance workers successful the southbound of England and West Midlands volition onslaught conscionable aft the aboriginal May slope holiday, the Unite national has said.

The Christie crab work successful Manchester, and hospitals successful Birmingham and Lancashire volition besides beryllium affected.

Unite's wide caput Sharon Graham said the government's wage connection was "not bully enough" for her members.

Unite said unit it represents volition spell connected onslaught connected Tuesday 2 May in:

The national has already announced strikes connected the erstwhile time - 1 May - astatine the Yorkshire ambulance work and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust successful cardinal London.

Unite is the smallest of the 3 unions which correspond ambulance workers, alongside Unison and the GMB. About 2,000 paramedics, telephone handlers and different unit moving for ambulance trusts are expected to locomotion retired crossed the 2 days successful May.

Thousands of nurses are besides expected to onslaught betwixt 30 April and 2 May successful astir fractional of the NHS trusts successful England.

The Royal College of Nursing, whose members rejected the government's latest wage offer, said exigency departments, intensive attraction and crab services would beryllium affected for the archetypal time.

Members of Unison union, which represents ambulance crews and a smaller fig of different unit including nurses, person accepted the aforesaid wage deal.

The authorities offered a 5% wage emergence for 2023-24 and a one-off outgo of astatine slightest £1,655 to apical up past year's salary.

The connection covers each NHS unit but doctors.

Ms Graham said: "Unite has been up beforehand and honorable that it did not judge that the wage connection was bully capable for NHS workers. A lump sum outgo and yet different existent presumption wage chopped doesn't conscionable the challenges faced by NHS workers.

"Where our members person indicated that they privation to swiftly instrumentality to the picket line, Unite is ensuring they are capable to bash so."

The authorities has antecedently described the wage connection arsenic "fair and generous" and said the determination by nurses to escalate onslaught enactment was "hugely concerning for patients".