Ambulance workers across the North East may take part in strikes asking for better working conditions after a vote later this month.

GMB Union are conducting a ballot vote for more than 15,000 ambulance workers across England and Wales on Monday, 24 October.

They said thousands of ambulance workers from London, East of England, East and West Midlands, North East, Yorkshire, North West, South Central, South East Coast, South West and Wales Ambulance trusts will be balloted on industrial action.

The union claims strike action is being considered because workers have dealt with slashed pay over more than ten years, fears over the cost of living crisis, record-high vacancies, and the worst A&E delays ever.

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Rachel Harrison, GMB National Officer, in a statement today, 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 ten 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. 

 “But 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.” 

The union said the voting will end on November, 29, and warned strike action could take place before Christmas.

The strike ballots follow consultative votes across all the trusts in which workers voted strongly in favour of strike action. 

Meanwhile, the union said workers are angry over the Government’s imposed 4 per cent pay award, which leaves them facing yet another massive "real-terms pay cut."   

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Karen O’Brien, director of people and development at North East Ambulance Service, in response to these claims, said: “Although NHS pay is set nationally, and is therefore outside of our control, we recognise this is a very difficult time for everyone right now, including our colleagues.

"We value the contribution of all our colleagues who, regardless of where they work within our organisation, work incredibly hard every day to keep our patients safe.

"We understand their concerns around feeling overworked, and are confident that this feeling should start to ease following significant additional investment in our service, which is being spent on recruiting more people to join our teams.

“If industrial action is taken, we will work together with our trade union colleagues to keep critical services running.”

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