Ambulance workers strike for second time in Polegate and Eastbourne
Almost 3,500 SECAmb workers are striking today after a Government pay offer which GMB Union members say is a ‘real terms pay cut’.
Our pictures show workers on the picket line at the Eastbourne Patient Transport Service and Polegate Make Ready depots.
A GMB Union spokesperson said: “To end this dispute, GMB needs a concrete offer to help resolve the NHS’s crushing recruitment and retention crisis.”
Paramedics, Emergency Care Assistants, call handlers and other staff are staging major pickets in Brighton, Hastings, Stoke Mandeville, Salisbury and across the south of the country.
Workers across the ambulance services and some NHS Trusts have voted to strike over the Government’s imposed 4 per cent pay award - another massive real terms pay cut.
Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said: “GMB cancelled a planned strike over the Christmas period to say thank you to the public for their incredible support. It also allowed time for the Government to talk to us about pay, but Ministers have dithered and postured, wasting valuable time. The public expects the Government to treat this dispute seriously – it's time they got on with it.”
