The Unite union has cancelled ambulance worker strikes in England that were due to take place on Monday in trusts located in the West Midlands, North West, South Central, South Coastal, and East Midlands.
The union paused the strike action on Sunday in order to enter pay talks with the government, following “further assurances”. However, the union warned that strike action could still resume if the talks do not meet the agreed assurances.
Unite head of operations Gail Cartmail said that the union wants a confirmation that any deal will include new money, not put further pressure on NHS budgets, and will not impact the conditions on health staff.
The strikes were supposed to be the first time that Unite members in South Central and South Coastal had taken industrial action, and members in Yorkshire were due to take industrial action on Wednesday.
In addition, Unite had already called off strikes in Wales on March 6 due to pay talks continuing with the Welsh Government. The cancellation follows Unison and GMB unions, which also cancelled industrial action after the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) said money was available for potential pay rises covering this year and next.
The planned Unison strikes involved some 32,000 NHS workers, including 24,500 ambulance staff, while 13,000 ambulance workers were part of the GMB action.
»Ambulance strikes in England paused in order to enter pay talks«
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