Ambulance workers including emergency care assistants, call handlers and paramedics are among those taking their campaign to Westminster today, Wednesday 1 March.
UNISON members from the South Western Ambulance Service have travelled by coach and rail to lobby their MPs in the Houses of Parliament today. The lobby follows four days of strike action in the region and is part of the campaign to put NHS pay right.
The ambulance staff have set up meetings with their MPs, in order to share their stories, describe how the crisis is affecting the lives of ordinary workers, and impose on their elected representatives the need for a better pay for the NHS.
A paramedic and UNISON representative in the South Western Ambulance Service said:
“Our Members of Parliament need to see what’s really going on in our service. They should come to the places we work day in, day out, and see what’s happening.
“The job losses in the NHS are really bad because of the pressure staff are under. They can’t cope with the stress of the job. There’s vacancies in nearby supermarkets that pay more than an entry level emergency care assistant. We don’t want to leave the jobs we love, but we need to be able to heat our homes and feed our families – it’s not too much to ask.”
UNISON South West regional secretary Joanne Kaye said:
“Four days of strike action hasn’t made the government budge so now ambulance staff are taking the issue to the government.
“NHS workers are doing their best in a broken system. Every single day they go to work to save lives and deserve to be renumerated with pay that meets the cost of living.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the support from the public when standing on picket lines alongside our ambulance members. The passing traffic beeps loudly and passers by stopping to lend their support.
“The government has stood idle while NHS workers stand on a picket line defending the service that they love, by taking the issue directly to government they have to listen, and they must get round the table to resolve this dispute.”
