Scottish Ambulance Service staff set date for industrial action

Scottish ambulance staff are set to take industrial action on 25 November over a pay dispute.

Around 1,500 Unite members – including paramedics, advanced practitioners, planners and administrative workers – will take part.

The union says it is also considering co-ordinated strike action with other NHS staff unless the Scottish government submits a new pay offer.

Ministers have warned there is no more money to fund public sector pay rises.

Unite said all of its Scottish Ambulance Service workers would take "continuous action short of strike" from 00.01 on 25 November.

The action will include an overtime ban and work to rule. This means staff will adhere strictly to contractual terms on working hours and scheduled breaks.

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said he was disappointed by the move and he was "committed to ongoing discussions to avoid strikes".

Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Unite is determined to encourage the Scottish government to return to the negotiating table.

"The action short of strike we have announced is designed to prevent all out strike action but make no mistake about this, if there is no new improved offer then this is exactly what will happen and the Scottish government will be to blame."

It comes after the union's NHS members including paramedics, theatre assistants and laboratory workers voted against a flat pay offer from the government earlier this month.

Scottish ministers had proposed a pay rise of £2,205 for all staff - an average 7% pay uplift, or more than 11% for the lowest paid.

Unite said it was considering co-ordinated strike action with the other NHS trade unions if its industrial action does not prompt an improved offer.

Members of the Royal College of Nursing, the GMB union and the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy have backed strike action.

But Unison, Scotland's largest health union, has suspended its strike ballot of NHS staff and is consulting its members on a revised pay offer until 14 November.

Jamie McNamee, Unite Scottish Ambulance Service convenor, said: "The offer currently on the table is insufficient and unacceptable. In real terms it represents a significant pay cut.

"The present situation is directly contributing to the NHS losing senior staff due to being overworked and poorly paid.

"Our NHS workers deserve better from the Scottish government and now they have a final opportunity to make a fair pay offer before this pay dispute dramatically escalates."

Finance Secretary John Swinney has said that although cash had been moved around in the health budget to give NHS staff a better offer, further pay uplifts would mean cuts elsewhere.

Mr Swinney announced £615m of spending cuts in his emergency budget review. It came on top of £560m worth cuts to public services in September.

His colleague, Mr Yousaf, the health secretary, said: I'm disappointed Unite members in the Scottish Ambulance Service are taking industrial action.

"I have always stressed that dialogue is essential and I am committed to ongoing discussions to avoid strikes.

"The safety of patients is our top priority and we'll work with boards to put detailed contingency plans in place."