Greater Manchester's paramedics to walk out on strike every weekend for three months

The action's been announced as part of a long running dispute over pay.

Author: Victoria GloverPublished 26th Jul 2018

Paramedics across Greater Manchester and the rest of the north west will stage strike action every weekend until October at the earliest as part of a long running dispute over pay.

GMB union members have confirmed the industrial action saying they're desperate for management to listen to their side of the story.

Ambulance staff covering here, Lancashire, Cumbria, Cheshire, and Merseyside plan to walk out for 26 hours from 6am on Saturday to 8am on Sunday for the next three months.

North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) paramedics have already staged four strikes in recent weeks after a ballot of members saw more than 84% of those who responded vote in favour of the action.

Mike Buoey from the GMB Union said: “This is the last situation our paramedics wanted to find themselves in, but they are desperate for management to listen to their side of the story.

“They’ve been waiting a long time for their job to be re-evaluated for the years between 2005 to 2016.

“NWAS currently has an acting CEO and GMB believes he is ignoring this issue in the hope it will go away.

“We need to speak to someone with authority who shares out interest in resolving this matter.

“After more than 13 years, our members are now saying enough is enough.”