North East Ambulance Service workers are voting on strike action over pay
This will be the first strike they have had in decades
Today, over 15,000 ambulance workers from the GMB union across 11 trusts in England and Wales will vote on strike action against pay.
It includes staff from the North East Ambulance Service.
This will be the first strike they have had in decades.
Members are “angry at the Governments 4% pay award which they believe is below the level of inflation and “they have had enough.”
The ballot opens today and closes on 29 November, and any potential strike action could take place before Christmas says GMB union.
As well the 15,000 ambulance workers, thousands more members across other NHS trusts will also be balloted, the GMB union have said.
The ballots follow votes across all the trusts in which workers voted strongly in favour of moving to a formal strike ballot.
4% pay award will lead to "real-terms pay cut"
The GMB said its members are angry over the Government’s 4% pay award, which it said leaves them facing “another massive real-terms pay cut”.
National officer Rachel Harrison said: “Ambulance workers have just had enough.
“They’ve not been on strike in decades but they are at the end of what they can take.
“Pay has been systematically slashed for more than 10 years and we now face the worst cost-of-living crush in a generation.
“Meanwhile vacancies are at record highs and we have the worst A&E delays ever – and it’s not even the winter flu season yet.
“This is about more than pay and conditions. Cuts and shortages mean GMB members feel they are unable to deliver safe standards of patient care.
“Things can’t go on like this – something has to give.”
What's it like on the frontline?
One paramedic has been speaking to us anonymously about what working on the frontline is like at the moment: "Sometimes when we have critically unwell patients, the hospitals are so full at the minute we can't get them into the hospital as quick as we'd like to sometimes.
"Which it's not the best situation for them, it's not the best standard of care that we can offer, or should be offering.
"We're just stuck in this situation which is just getting worse and worse, it's emotionally draining."
He told us it's not just about pay: "It's really heartbreaking for all of us, because it's not a situation that any one person or any clinician or even manager can solve.
"The hospitals just aren't big enough.
"There aren't enough ambulances, there aren't enough paramedics, there aren't enough nurses, there aren't enough doctors.
"And that's just all compiling into this situation that we have here at the minute.
"We all love our job and when we're waiting outside of the hospital we're wasting our time.
"We want to be out there attending the next patient, going to the next job, and helping them, but we can't do that because we've still got our patient in the back of the ambulance that we need to offload to hospital.
"It's incredibly frustrating because there's nothing we can do."
The ambulance trusts where GMB members will be balloted are:
- London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- North East Ambulance Service Trust
- Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust
- South Central Ambulance Service
- South East Coast Ambulance Service
- South West Ambulance Service
- Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
For more information, please visit the GMB union website.
Interest rates and inflation go up
Inflation rose by 8.8% in the 12 months to January 2023, down from 9.2% in December 2022. With interest rates also rising to 4%, those saving money will earn more interest on their finances, whilst those paying mortgages would pay more interest to the bank.
Energy bills
The price of energy went up incredibly as the cost of living crisis hit, with the gas price spike caused largely by the war in Ukraine. The price cap - which is set by an independent regulator to help offset costs onto customers - was set to rise to £3,549 for an average home in October but a price freeze from the government restricted the typical bill to £2,500. That's still an increase of 27% from the previous energy cap and as it's a cap on unit cost, the more energy you use the higher your bill will be.
Food prices
The cost of a weekly shop also has gone up as a result of the cost of living crisis. As a result of the war in Ukraine, a number of products including cooking oils and wheat have been disrupted. This means that several products are now considerably more expensive, driving bills up for customers.
Prices at the pumps
The average cost of petrol has also rose to unprecedented levels. Supply lines for petrol have been thrown into doubt as a result of the war in Ukraine, as Russia is a large export partner for gas, oil and fuel. In April 2022, the average price for a litre of petrol on the forecourt was 160.2p, whilst a litre of diesel would cost 170.5p. By late June 2022 the price had risen to an average of 190.9p for a litre of unleaded and 198.9p for a litre of diesel. In March 2023 the price wass on average of 147.03 in petrol and 167.04 in diesel.
Average cost of filling up a car with petrol hits £100
On 9th June 2022, the average cost of filling up a car with petrol hit £100 for the first time ever. Diesel had already hit that milestone. It comes as the cost of fuel hit a record high of one pound eighty a litre. The 2p rise was the biggest daily jump in 17 years. Prices have dropped by at least 20p per litre since the high point.