A North East MP told the Government to “get a grip and negotiate like adults” as lifesaving ambulance staff staged another day of strike action.

About 1,500 ambulance staff from the Unison union walked out across the region in an ongoing row over pay and staffing on Friday (February 10).

Paramedics, technicians, call handlers and control room staff were among those on the picket lines as the public was again urged to only call 999 in a “life of limb threatening” emergency.

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Joining striking workers on the picket line in Chester-Le-Street, City of Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy told the Government to “get a grip and negotiate like adults”.

The Northern Echo: Mary Kelly Foy MP spoke to striking workers on the picket line in Chester-le-Street.Mary Kelly Foy MP spoke to striking workers on the picket line in Chester-le-Street. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

She said: “Last week at Prime Minister’s Questions I asked Rishi Sunak whether he was going to get a grip and negotiate pay with working people or was he intent on being remembered as the PM who would rather sack NHS staff than pay them a fair wage.

“Sadly, today’s strike shows his head is in the sand. The NHS is precious, but its staff have been overstretched and underpaid for too long.

“Our ambulance workers have my unwavering support and I know the public back them too. My message to the Government is simple: Get a grip, get around the table and negotiate like adults for  a fair deal with all our NHS staff.”

Ambulance staff from the Unite and GMB unions staged their fourth walkout on Monday (February 6), joining Royal College of Nursing (RCN) staff to hit the NHS with the largest strike ever.

The Northern Echo: Rapid Response Paramedic John Lennon and Unison North East Ambulance Lead Miles Elliott.Rapid Response Paramedic John Lennon and Unison North East Ambulance Lead Miles Elliott. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Also speaking at the picket line, Miles Elliott, North East Ambulance Lead for UNISON, added: “Dialogue can achieve great things. The prime minister should give it a go. Governments elsewhere in the UK have shown it’s good to talk to unions. That’s the only way disputes get resolved.

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“Rishi Sunak says his door is open but without an invite to that mythical negotiating table, NHS staff have no choice but to go on striking.

“Ambulance workers are desperate to get back to work, care for people and save lives. But they’re equally determined to secure the pay rise that’ll help put the NHS in a much better place.

“The prime minister must ditch the pretence. It’s time to come clean with people and admit the government’s only plan is to sit tight and hope public opinion turns against health workers.

The Northern Echo:

“But that’s unlikely to happen. The public can see that by choosing not to negotiate, the government is condemning them to months of unnecessary disruption.”

Striking ambulance staff previously told The Northern Echo of colleagues leaving the service for better-paid and less-stressful jobs working in supermarkets, and shifts being spent with one patient due to wait times at hospitals.

John Lennon, a striking rapid response paramedic, said: “We’ve taken the extremely difficult decision to strike today to challenge the pay cut Government has imposed on NHS workers like us and to highlight the wider staffing crisis in the NHS.

“Health Trusts can’t recruit or retain the staff they need and that’s putting more pressure on us, it’s stopping us being able to care for people the way we want to.

“Government urgently need to invest in the NHS to help us care for the public properly when they need our help.”

Nationally, about 15,000 members of Unison in five areas walked out, with officials warning of escalating action in the coming weeks unless the deadlock is broken.
The Westminster Government says it will only discuss next year’s pay rather than pay for the current year which is at the heart of the disputes.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Friday said the Government would not fund big pay rises through “inflationary” borrowing.

“We should listen to the very clear warning from the Bank of England governor yesterday, who said that if you fund higher wage settlements through borrowing that is inflationary,” he told broadcasters.

Asked if that meant no more money for striking workers, the Chancellor said: “It’s not a no, it’s saying we’ll talk about absolutely anything, except things that will dig in the very high inflation that is causing people to see the cost of their weekly shop go up and the value of their wages erode.”

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