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Wales ambulance strike postponed after better pay offer | Wales ambulance strike postponed after better pay offer |
(37 minutes later) | |
About a quarter of ambulance service workers are represented by the GMB union | |
Welsh ambulance staff in the GMB union have suspended strike action following an improved offer was tabled by ministers. | |
The BBC has been told the Welsh government offered a one-off pay deal on top of the already imposed 4.5% pay rise for workers. | |
GMB members had planned to take industrial action on four dates in February and March, starting Monday. | |
However they have been postponed while the union considers the latest offer. | |
It is unclear what other unions have decided to do at this stage. | It is unclear what other unions have decided to do at this stage. |
Details of the offer have not yet been disclosed, but the GMB said the Welsh government confirmed negotiations for 2023-24 will begin almost immediately. | |
The GMB represents about a quarter of the ambulance service in Wales, including paramedics, call room staff and ambulance technicians. | |
Strikes will mean cancelled operations - minister | |
Plaid Cymru calls for income tax rises for NHS pay | |
But about 1,500 union members planning to strike on Monday will now be paused. | |
GMB and Welsh NHS lead, Nathan Holman, said: "We appreciate the frank and open dialogue with them over the last few months. | |
"This has only been made possible because the Welsh government has been prepared to talk about pay - a lesson for those in charge on the other side of the Severn Bridge. | |
"We are a member led union, ultimately they will decide." | |
Thousands of ambulance workers have been holding walkouts since December, with GMB members only responding to life-threatening calls. | Thousands of ambulance workers have been holding walkouts since December, with GMB members only responding to life-threatening calls. |
Staff staged two strikes in January as part of their calls for better pay, above inflation. | |
It put increasing pressure on the Welsh government as strikes left the service "seriously disrupted". | It put increasing pressure on the Welsh government as strikes left the service "seriously disrupted". |