Ambulance workers in the Harrogate district are staging another one-day strike today.
Yorkshire Ambulance Service staff who are members of the GMB union have set-up another picket line outside the ambulance station on Lancaster Park Road in Harrogate, close to the hospital.
Paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff are among those taking part in the industrial action, although ambulance workers will continue to respond to the most serious incidents.
Further ambulance strikes are planned on March 6 and 20 and Harrogate District Hospital will be hit by a two-day nurses’ strike beginning on March 1.
GMB national secretary Rachel Harrison urged the government to “talk pay now” and claimed ministers were unwilling to solve the dispute.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the strikes “only cause further disruption for patients” and he remained “keen to keep talking to unions about what is fair and affordable”.
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Harrogate ambulance striker: ‘Nobody wants to wait three hours to offload patients’
Ambulance workers and nurses formed picket lines within metres of each other in Harrogate today as part of the biggest-ever day of NHS strikes in England.
Members of the Royal College of Nursing began two days of industrial action outside Harrogate District Hospital on Lancaster Park Road.
A two-minute walk away, members of the GMB union were huddled around a fire at Harrogate Ambulance Station for a one-day strike due to take place from 6am to midday and from 6pm to midnight.
Unison ambulance workers are due to strike on Friday.
The hospital picket line today
Laura Faulkener, an ambulance practitioner and GMB rep, told the Stray Ferret patients were more likely to get an ambulance today than on non-strike days because of the measures put in place to respond to the most serious incidents.
Asked why the GMB was striking, Ms Faulkner said:
“There’s been a lot of focus on pay but it’s about conditions, above all.
“None of us want to wait seven hours in a corridor with patients while they wait to be seen.”
She said the situation was particularly bad at York Hospital but paramedics could still be left looking after patients in the back of ambulances for three or hour hours at Harrogate District Hospital while they waited to be treated.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said in a statement key services continued to operate during the strike and nobody should be put off seeking urgent or emergency care. It added:
“Patients should continue to attend appointments as planned unless contacted to reschedule.”
RCN staff will be taking part in industrial action today (6 February) and tomorrow (7 February). This will impact our services at HDFT. Unless it’s a life-threatening injury/severe illness contact NHS111 https://t.co/h6tkZbXSie #nhsstrikes https://t.co/sUdV7rONPD
— Harrogate NHS FT (@HarrogateNHSFT) February 6, 2023
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Ambulance workers form picket line in Harrogate today
Striking ambulance workers are operating a picket line in Harrogate today.
Members of the GMB union began their 24-hour action at Harrogate Ambulance Station, which is on Lancaster Park Road close to the hospital, at midnight.
They were joined by members of Unison at noon.
It is the second time staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service have gone on strike in the last month, although they continue to respond to the most serious category one calls.
GMB rep and paramedic Neil Summers told the Stray Ferret the state of the NHS was the main reason for the industrial action. He said:
“We are literally sitting outside hospitals with patients in our ambulances for hours and hours because they have nowhere to go.
“The hospitals are full and it means we are not able to do our jobs. We hear calls for cardiac arrests and can’t do anything.”
Todays picket line
Mr Summers said York Hospital was particularly bad but paramedics could still be waiting at Harrogate District Hospital for “up to three or four hours”.
He said there needed to be greater investment in the NHS as well as social care to ease problems caused by bed-blocking.
He said pay was also a concern, as many staff had not had an increase in wages for years.
“My pay isn’t terrible but some people’s is appalling.”
Picket line Jan 2023
The pickets have been joined today by local campaigner Lindis Percy, a former nurse, midwife and health visitor. She said:
“What’s going on in the the health service is shocking and this government has caused it.”
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said this morning the NHS is under “very severe pressure”.
He added the government has announced further investment for emergency departments, as well as looking into ways of targeting how to get patients who are fit to leave into social care.
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Ambulance workers in Harrogate district begin strike
A picket line is in place outside Harrogate Ambulance Station today in the latest round of strikes.
Staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service have walked out as part of a national dispute over pay and conditions. A second day of strikes is due to take place on December 28.
Vehicles tooted their horns in support of members of the GMB union picketing on Lancaster Park Road, which is on the same street at Harrogate Disrict Hospital.
Nurses and firefighters have also showed their support and a local cafe dropped off hot chocolate to strikers shivering besides a fire.
Union organiser Katherine Mitchell told the Stray Ferret GMB staff were striking today from one minute past midnight until 10pm. Ms Mitchell said members of Unison were due to join the action at noon today.
She said about 60 staff were employed at Harrogate Ambulance Station and they would continue to respond to the most serious category one incidents during the strike. Some strikers had already been called in to deal with such incidents, she added.
Several staff said the dispute was not only about pay but also about conditions and the state of the NHS. One person said they had waited four hours outside Harrogate District Hospital recently with a patient because the hospital did not have enough staff to escort the person away.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said this morning NHS contingency plans would not cover all 999 calls and that “ambulance unions have taken a conscious choice to inflict harm on patients” — which drew an angry response from union leaders.
Rail and postal workers in the Harrogate district have been on strike this winter, but Harrogate District Hospital was not included in the first two days of nurses strikes. Firefighters are expected to be balloted in the new year over strike action.
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Ambulance workers in Harrogate district could be set to strike
Staff at Yorkshire Ambulance Service are set to vote on strike action over a government pay offer.
The service employs 7,200 staff and covers all of North Yorkshire, including the Harrogate district.
The GMB Union, which represents 1,500 ambulance workers, said it held a consultative ballot over strike action which saw 90% vote in favour of a walk-out.
Turnout for the vote was 80%.
It comes after the government offered staff a 4% pay increase.
Following the outcome on the consultative ballot, Unions are now set to move towards holding a formal vote on industrial action.
Deanne Ferguson, GMB organiser, said:
“Ambulance staff should not be worrying about how they’ll heat their homes this winter or feed their families, whilst carrying out a crucial service across our communities.
“The service is crumbling, and it is having an impact on everyone – it is only surviving because of the amazing workers holding it together, through goodwill.
“GMB members have had enough, they are angry – and that’s why they want to move to a formal ballot for strike action.
“They’ve made history with their turnout and vote.
“GMB Union will stand shoulder to shoulder with our members as we fight for an above inflation pay rise for our NHS heroes.”
Dates for the formal ballot will be announced in the “coming days”, the union said.
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Four-day union congress in Harrogate draws to close
A demonstration by ambulance workers was among the highlights of a major trade union conference in Harrogate this week.
About 500 delegates from the GMB union have been in the town for the annual congress.
It is the first time the union, which represents over 500,000 members, has held its major event in Harrogate since 1928.
The congress, which ends tomorrow, began with ambulance workers demonstrating against the ‘worst ever’ pressures they are under.
The union said calls had almost doubled to 14 million a year since 2010 and the average response time for serious calls had increased from 20 minutes to 51 minutes in the year to April 2022.
Rachel Harrison, GMB national officer, said:
“Ambulance workers have faced more than a decade of cuts while demand has almost doubled.
“It’s no wonder they are leaving in droves while the service itself is teetering on the brink of collapse.
“Our members face unbelievable stress and even abuse while they do their best to administer care and save lives.
“We need urgent investment across the health and care services, otherwise we risk an unprecedented crisis.”
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Unions call for Harrogate council staff to get £2,000 pay rise
Harrogate Borough Council staff should receive a minimum £2,000 salary increase, according to trade unions.
Unison, GMB and Unite today formally lodged the 2022/23 pay claim for local government workers.
The claim also called for a covid recognition payment, a national minimum agreement on homeworking policies for all councils, the introduction of a home working allowance and a reduction in the working week to 35 hours.
It is the start of a negotiation process with the Local Government Association, the national membership body for local authorities. The claim is for all council workers in England and Wales.
David Houlgate, secretary of the Harrogate local government branch of Unison, said council employees had seen their pay reduced by 27% in real terms over the last decade.
He added:
“Councils can’t get staff and they can’t keep staff because of pay. They need to wake up and smell the coffee.
“It is impacting services, such as swimming pools being open for reduced hours, bins not being collected as often, streets not being cleaned and streetlights not being fixed.
“I’ve worked for the local council for 25 years and I’ve never known it to be as bad as this.”
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Mr Houlgate said staff morale was poor and the looming abolition of Harrogate Borough Council had created extra uncertainty but the key issue was pay and recruitment. He added:
“If local councils can’t be competitive with other employers we are not going to overcome the recruitment problem.”
Responding to the unions’ claims, Cllr Sian Timoney, chair of the National Employers at the Local Government Association, said:
British Gas engineers in Harrogate strike over pay and conditions“We will be consulting with councils during June to seek their views which will inform the National Employers’ response to the unions.
“Local government continues to face significant financial challenges, which became more acute during the pandemic, having lost more than £15 billion in government funding since 2010.
“As well as rising inflation, cost of living, energy and fuel prices, the forecast increases to the National Living Wage also presents a significant cost to local government that will put further pressure on council budgets.”
Six British Gas engineers from Harrogate have been on strike today over pay and working conditions.
The members of the GMB union held flags and banners by the Prince of Wales roundabout.
It was their eighth day of industrial action this winter. Further strikes are planned this month and February.
They claim the Centrica-owned company is asking employees to sign new contracts before March 31 on unfavourable terms.
About 20 local engineers employed in gas service and repair, smart metering, installations, electrical and white goods are affected.
One of the strikers, Jonathan Barker, told the Stray Ferret that thousands of British Gas employees across the country were taking similar action today.
He said:
“We’re just normal blokes who want to earn a bit of money and have a normal life.
“We don’t want to be on strike in winter, it’s our busiest time but we’ve been forced into it.”
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A British Gas spokesperson said:
“We’re operating in an incredibly competitive market and British Gas has lost too many jobs and too many customers over recent years. Our business needs to change to survive and protect 20,000 jobs.
“We know change is difficult but we have offered a fair deal that has been negotiated over 300 hours with unions – we’re not cutting base pay and pensions are protected.
“Eighty-three percent of our employees have already agreed to the new terms and we believe the vast majority of our workforce understand that the company needs to change.”