AMBULANCE workers in the north west have voted to take strike action in the run-up to Christmas.

The vote took place on Wednesday, November 30.

Some 1,500 north west members of the GMB Union voted in favour of strike action, in a vote of 10,000 workers across nine different NHS trusts.

Paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff are now set to walk out in the region. 

The union says that nobody takes strike action lightly, and this vote shows how desperate workers really are.

Workers across the ambulance service have voted to walk out over the Government's imposed four per cent pay rise - which is a real-terms pay cut when considered with inflation rates.

GMB will now meet with union reps in the coming days to discuss potential strike dates before Christmas. 

Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary, said: “Ambulance workers – like other NHS workers – are on their knees. 

“Demoralised and downtrodden, they have faced twelve years of cuts to the service and their pay packets, fought on the frontline of a global pandemic and now face the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

"No one in the NHS takes strike action lightly – today shows just how desperate they are."

Warrington Guardian: Some 1,500 workers are set to strike in DecemberSome 1,500 workers are set to strike in December (Image: Newsquest)

The union boss continued: "This is as much about unsafe staffing levels and patient safety as it is about pay.

"A third of GMB ambulance workers think delays they have been involved with have led to the death of a patient.  

“Something has to change or the service as we know it will collapse. 

“GMB calls on the Government to avoid a winter of NHS strikes by negotiating a pay award that these workers deserve.” 

The union will hold discussions in the coming days to determine when these strikes will take place.

In light of the GMB vote, North West Ambulance Service has declined the Warrington Guardian's request for comment.