Yorkshire Ambulance staff to strike on four more days in February and March
The GMB union has announced further walkouts in a row over pay and conditions
Yorkshire Ambulance staff are set to walkout on four more days over the next two months, in a row over pay and conditions.
The GMB union has announced strikes on the 6th and 20th February, and again on the same dates in March.
Union boss Rachel Harrison accused the government of stopping a pay deal.
In a statement, she said: “Ministers have made things worse by demonising the ambulance workers who provided life and limb cover on strike days - playing political games with their scaremongering.
“The only way to solve this dispute is a proper pay offer."
Questioned on ambulance wait times at Prime Minsiter's Questions, Rishi Sunak insisted the government was "putting extra funding in" to bring them down.
His comments came after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer asked him: "The Prime Minister could deflect all he likes but for the person suffering from chest pains, the clock started ticking straight away, every minute counts. That's why the Government says an ambulance should be there in 18 minutes. In that case, it would mean just about 20 past 12.
"Now, I know he doesn't want to answer the question I asked him. So I'm going to ask him again: when will that ambulance arrive?"
Rishi Sunak replied: "Because of the extra funding we are putting in to relieve pressure in urgent and emergency care departments, because of the investment we are putting in in ambulance call handling, we will improve ambulance times as we are recovering from the pandemic and, indeed, the pressures of this winter.
"I say to the honourable gentleman again, because he makes my case for me. He describes the life-saving care that people desperately need, so why when in other countries like France, Spain, Italy and others, why is he depriving people of that care?"
It's come as thousands of nurses walkout in their own row over pay.
A wave of strike action on February 1st will also see school teachers, university lecturers, train drivers and civil servants join co-ordinated industrial action.