Thousands of ambulance workers in England to strike on 10 February over ongoing pay dispute
Thousands of ambulance workers in England will strike on 10 February, Unison has announced.
The union said workers across five services will walk out as the long-running dispute over pay and staffing continues.
Ambulance workers in London, Yorkshire, the South West, North East and North West will be involved in the industrial action.
Strikes will now be happening across the NHS every day next week apart from Wednesday.
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Unison also announced that thousands of Environment Agency workers will strike on 8 February in a dispute over pay.
Downing Street said the latest strike action by ambulance workers is “deeply concerning”.
“We are putting in place significant mitigations that have previously helped reduce some of the impact from these strikes,” the PM’s official spokesperson said.
“But first and foremost we would ask the unions to reconsider that approach and continue discussions.”
Announcing the latest industrial action, Unison urged ministers to stop “pretending the strikes will simply go away” and improve ambulance workers’ pay.
The union also warned that unless the government has a “major rethink” over NHS pay, and gets involved in “actual talks” with unions, it will announce strike dates running into March.
It added that by then, the dispute is likely to affect double the number of trusts and extend to the whole of the ambulance service in England.
“The government must stop playing games. Rishi Sunak wants the public to believe ministers are doing all they can to resolve the dispute. They’re not,” the union’s head of health Sara Gorton said.
“There are no pay talks, and the prime minister must stop trying to hoodwink the public. It’s time for some honesty. Ministers are doing precisely nothing to end the dispute.
“The government’s tactics seem to be to dig in, wait months for the pay review body report and hope the dispute goes away. It won’t. And in the meantime, staff will carry on quitting, and patients being let down.
“There can be no health service without the staff to run it. Ministers must open proper talks to end the dispute and put in place the urgent retention plan needed to boost pay and staffing across the NHS.”
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The latest strike announcement comes as ministers are braced for the biggest day of industrial action in over a decade on Wednesday when teachers, university lecturers, train drivers, civil servants, bus drivers and security guards stop work on the same day.
The PM’s spokesperson conceded that Wednesday’s mass strike action will be “very difficult”.
Members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) voted overwhelmingly in favour of action in a ballot result announced on Monday.
The FBU has said it is giving the government and employers 10 days to make an improved offer before deciding its next move.
If they go ahead, the strikes will be the first nationwide fire strikes over pay since 2003.
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While the National Education Union (NEU) accused the government of having “squandered” the chance to avert a walk-out in schools in England and Wales after talks with Education Secretary Gillian Keegan broke up without agreement.
New Sky News polling shows support for trade unions is rising even though strike action is bringing public services to a standstill.
Meanwhile, NHS consultants in England are also gearing up for possible strike action.
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An NHS hospital under pressure
The British Medical Association (BMA) – the country’s biggest doctors’ union – is to hold an indicative ballot of its consultant members in February in a dispute over pay and pensions.
The BMA has said that while the consultative poll – which opens on 10 February and closes on 27 February – was not a formal ballot, it represents a significant escalation towards one.
Around 45,000 junior doctors who are members of the union have also been balloted over strike action – with the result due at the end of February.
Speaking on Monday, Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers, said the threat of more strikes was “alarming” in a service already struggling to cope with the effects of the most widespread industrial action in its history.
A new anti-strike law – which would see minimum service levels set for fire, ambulance and rail services for when the sectors decide to take industrial action – cleared its final Commons hurdle on Monday evening.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.
He told the Sunday Times the properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.
“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.
“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”
Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.
Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir to sack the minister
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As economic secretary to the Treasury, Ms Siddiq is responsible for policy on both the City and tackling corruption.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog on Monday following the reports about the properties.
On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.
“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Police in Aberdeen have widened the search area for two sisters who disappeared four days ago in the city.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV on Market Street after leaving their home on Tuesday at around 2.12am.
The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets and originally from Hungary – crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV in Market Street. Pic: Police Scotland/PA
They headed in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club but officers said there is no evidence to suggest the missing women left the immediate area.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and a marine unit have been trying to trace the pair.
The sisters crossed Victoria Bridge before walking along a footpath next to the River Dee
The pair were heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club on the south side of the River Dee
Further searches are being carried out towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour and Duthie Park.
Police Scotland said it is liaising with authorities in Hungary to support the relatives of the two sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them.
“We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry.”
The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Officers have requested businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review their CCTV footage for the early morning of Tuesday 7 January.
Police added they are keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time.
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