| There will be a fresh wave of strikes across the NHS in January, it has been announced. NHS workers in England will strike for 12 hours on January 29, while a two-day walk out is planned by ambulance staff on January 29 and 30. The strikes are the result of disputes over pay after the government decided not to accept a recommended 1% pay rise for all NHS staff. NHS staff from 12 unions took strike action in October and November. Unison announced that its NHS members in England will walk out for 12 hours from 9am on January 29. They will then work to rule between Friday 30 January and Tuesday 24 February. This means they will be working their contracted hours, taking their breaks and not doing unpaid overtime. Unison says this will be followed a 24-hour strike on Wednesday 25 February. GMB says it is holding urgent talks to consider a two-day strike in the ambulance service in England and Northern Ireland on 29 and 30 January. Rehana Azam, GMB NHS National Officer, said: "It is regrettable that GMB has no alternative but to escalate the strike action in the NHS. "The Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, is acting irresponsibly with a continued entrenched position by not engaging in any meaningful talks with the health unions. "Further stoppages across the NHS are inevitable should Jeremy Hunt continue to refuse to hold discussions to settle the pay dispute, a dispute created by him when he dismissed an independent pay review body's recommendation for NHS staff pay." |