THE long-running North-East ambulance dispute is over, with the union side claiming victory.

Since early summer, members of the Unison union who work for the North-East Ambulance Service have been refusing to work overtime.

Triggered by a dispute over mealtime payments, the action has resulted in fewer frontline ambulances being on the road in County Durham, Tyneside and Northumberland.

Now, following a binding ruling by the independent arbitration group Acas, the matter is being referred to national negotiators for clarification.

Acas has ruled that the ambulance trust's position on meal breaks amounts to a requirement for staff to work their meal breaks.

Both sides are now seeking clarification on whether the meal break is part of the working week or outside the working week.

This will determine the payments staff will receive in future.

Ray McDermott, branch secretary for the North-East Ambulance Service (NEAS), said: "The arbitration service has come down on the side of the union. That decision has clearly vindicated the action taken by the union."

Mr McDermott said the union had been forced into taking industrial action by the attitude of management.

He said: "This decision proves that it was totally unecessary for us to have to resort to industrial action.

"The bottom line for the public is that all the front-line ambulances are available again.

"This means that our members will either work less for the same money or they will get overtime."

Simon Featherstone, chief executive of the NEAS, said: "The dispute is now over. There will be implications, but we do not know what they are."

He said he hoped the clarification could be made as soon as possible.

He said: "We want to be able to move on and keep delivering an ever-improving service for the people of the North-East."