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| Ambulance staff strike to go ahead in Northern Ireland | Ambulance staff strike to go ahead in Northern Ireland |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A planned strike by some ambulance workers and other NHS staff in Northern Ireland is set to go ahead on Thursday. | |
| The strike, by members of the GMB and Unite unions, will go ahead despite a proposed pay deal drawn up after talks between unions and the government. | The strike, by members of the GMB and Unite unions, will go ahead despite a proposed pay deal drawn up after talks between unions and the government. |
| Thousands of staff will now go on strike. | Thousands of staff will now go on strike. |
| The GMB said its members in the NHS will take action for 12 hours from 09:00 GMT, while ambulance staff will walk out for 12 hours from noon. | The GMB said its members in the NHS will take action for 12 hours from 09:00 GMT, while ambulance staff will walk out for 12 hours from noon. |
| While the majority of Northern Ireland's 1,100 or so ambulance workers are members of the Unison union, the GMB estimates that 450 ambulance staff from their union and Unite will be on strike on Thursday. | |
| It said about a total of 3,000 staff would be called out to strike, although some may not have been due to be on shift. | |
| Unison is not striking on Thursday, but is to ballot its members in Northern Ireland for industrial action over pay. | |
| A Department of Health spokesman said: "Contingency arrangements are in place if strike action is taken in Northern Ireland to ensure that patient safety is not compromised." | |
| On Tuesday, strike action planned by NHS staff in England was suspended so union members could be consulted on a new offer. | On Tuesday, strike action planned by NHS staff in England was suspended so union members could be consulted on a new offer. |
| However, the GMB said the proposed deal had not yet been approved by Northern Ireland's Department of Health. | However, the GMB said the proposed deal had not yet been approved by Northern Ireland's Department of Health. |
| 'Back to square one' | |
| Michael Mulholland, GMB regional officer, said: "The response from the department [of health] puts us back to square one. On that basis GMB and Unite members will take strike action tomorrow. | Michael Mulholland, GMB regional officer, said: "The response from the department [of health] puts us back to square one. On that basis GMB and Unite members will take strike action tomorrow. |
| "There is no confirmation that the pay offer for NHS staff in England will be applied in full as has been the practice for over 60 years. Instead we are invited to make reference to it in the discussions we have been offered. There is also no pay offer on the table for 2014/15. | "There is no confirmation that the pay offer for NHS staff in England will be applied in full as has been the practice for over 60 years. Instead we are invited to make reference to it in the discussions we have been offered. There is also no pay offer on the table for 2014/15. |
| "This is moving the goal posts and is totally unacceptable." | "This is moving the goal posts and is totally unacceptable." |
| Talks were held in England on Tuesday between union members and the government. | Talks were held in England on Tuesday between union members and the government. |
| Staff were threatening to strike in response to a decision not to implement a 1% increase in NHS staff salaries across the board. | Staff were threatening to strike in response to a decision not to implement a 1% increase in NHS staff salaries across the board. |
| The government pay review body had originally recommended a minimum increase of 1%. | The government pay review body had originally recommended a minimum increase of 1%. |
| That has been implemented in Scotland and Wales, but not in England and Northern Ireland. | That has been implemented in Scotland and Wales, but not in England and Northern Ireland. |