Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/ENGLAND: Thousands of ambulance workers across the United Kingdom went on strike on Monday (today) over ongoing pay and staffing dispute.
The strike will involve over 11,000 GMB union members in England and Wales, and some Unite union members.
It comes as the number of health workers striking continues to rise, with junior doctors set to strike next month. On behalf of ambulance workers, GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison stated they would walk out “because this government is tin-eared.”
She claimed that the government had not engaged in meaningful dialogue in over a month. They have gone missing and refuse to discuss pay. She said, “addressing the issue of pay is critical if we are to stem the tide of dedicated healthcare workers leaving the profession.”
The Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA) has also announced a strike in England on March 15.
Some 97.48 per cent of members voted in favour of the union’s first strike in its history. Doctor Naru Narayanan, president of the HCSA, said junior doctors have kept patient care running in the face of a staffing crisis.
He claimed that in exchange for taking such a heavy emotional, mental, and physical toll, they have been subjected to a decade of real-term pay cuts totaling more than 26%. Around 45,000 junior doctors from the British Medical Association (BMA) have also been balloted on strike action, with expected results at the end of February.
Workers threatened a three-day strike
If there is a “yes” vote, the BMA has threatened a three-day strike. “As part of a multi-year deal, we agreed with the BMA, junior doctors’ pay has increased by 8.2% since 2019/20,” a Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said.
Despite contingency plans, Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said that the strikes were in no one’s best interests and would cause additional patient disruption.
Nurses will continue their protests with a 48-hour strike beginning on March 1. The Royal College of Nursing reported receiving £250,000 in public donations since the campaign began in December. According to RCN general secretary Pat Cullen, there isn’t a person in this country whose life hasn’t been impacted by a nurse, which is why the public is with us every step.
