Members can choose and change their minds at any point during the Industrial Action.
All members of GMB can exercise their right to take industrial action. This is a personal preference and you are legally protected to withdraw your labour.
Following the strike action on 21st December 2022, the exemptions have been reviewed and a few minor changes made; please see below.
Constructive conversations between GMB EMAS and EMAS senior leaders have now concluded, and mutually acceptable derogations have been agreed.
Therefore, members of the GMB trade union due to work during the planned strike action period will need to decide which option they will be enacting.
A script will be used by the managers on station when passing a job to the picket line. Where there is no picket line or manager on station the job will be passed via the station phone. It has been agreed that there will be one member of staff who is working to derogations in the station to answer the phone and receive the job if no manager is on site. In the few cases where this is not possible, one member of staff who is working to derogations will have a handheld radio and monitor the channel that would be used by EOC to communicate with EMAS managers to pass jobs.
Members will have the option at all times to withdraw or change their chosen option, however, this will impact their pay arrangements. Members also have the right not to choose an option and as a result, will be recorded as exercising their right to strike.
If you are striking and do not plan to attend a picket line or station, please ensure you inform your local divisional management team before your shift is due to begin on 11 January 2023.
Please note that if your part of your shift falls outside of the hours of Industrial action you will be expected to undertake you full duties. E.g. if you are on a 19:00 – 07:00 you will be expected to attend your normal duties at 00:00
Options Available to Members during Industrial Action
A&E Ambulance Staff
Option 1 – Member wishes to exercise their right to strike and will not respond to any category of call.
The member may choose to join a picket line or remain away from the workplace but must be contactable and in a fit state to respond to work in the event that a Major Incident is declared.
Option 2 – Member chooses not to strike and will provide a normal working function.
Option 3 – Member will only respond to Category 1 calls (fully coded prior to allocation).
Option 4 – Member will respond to Category 1 calls and Category 2 calls (fully coded prior to allocation) of the following types:
- Chest pain
- FAST-positive stroke (Cerebrovascular Accident/CVA) within 6 hours of symptom onset time
- Collapse outdoors or in a public place
- Road Traffic Collision where a patient is trapped
- Gynaecology emergency where mother or baby are at risk
- Children aged five and under
- Children aged six to 16 years old, following a discussion with trade union Representative.
NB: 111 C2 calls are not included in the derogations, regardless of the nature of the complaint
NB: C2 IFT calls are not included in the derogations, regardless of the nature of the complaint
In addition, a conversation will take place between a clinician and the trade union representative in the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) should there be a clinical concern to life and limb for a patient of any other Category 2 type to see if a response can be made.
Urgent Care Assistants (UCAs)
Option 1 – Member wishes to exercise their right to strike and will not respond to any category of call.
The member may choose to join a picket line or remain away from the workplace but must be contactable and in a fit state to respond to work in the event that a Major Incident is declared.
Option 2 – Member chooses not to strike and will provide a normal working function.
Option 3 – Member will only respond to backup colleagues on a Fast Response Vehicle (FRV) who have requested a red backup.
SORT Operatives and all Hazardous Area Response Team staff
Option 1 – Member wishes to exercise their right to strike and will not respond to any patients.
Option 2 – Member chooses not to strike and will provide a normal working function. HART staff will only respond to HART jobs, requiring HART-specific skills, during the period of the industrial action.
Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services staff
Option 1 – Member wishes to exercise their right to strike and will not respond to any patients
Option 2 – Member chooses not to strike and will provide a normal working function
Option 3 – Member will work under the exemptions. This means they will only attend patients travelling for renal treatment or oncology treatment, or palliative care patients who are returning home or travelling to a hospice.
Emergency Operations Centre Staff – EMDs and dispatchers
Option 1 – Member wishes to exercise their right to strike and will not attend work
Option 2 – Member chooses not to strike and will provide a normal working function.
Emergency Operations Centre staff – Clinical Assessment Team (CAT)
Option 1 – Member wishes to exercise their right to strike and will not attend work.
Option 2 – Member chooses not to strike and will provide a normal working function.
Option 3 – Member will work under the exemptions. This means they will only provide support to patients on the CAT stack and will not perform any other duties.
Enabling Services Staff (including Fleet and Logistics)
Option 1 – Member wishes to exercise their right to strike and will not attend work.
Option 2 – Member chooses not to strike and will provide a normal working function.
All managers
Option 1 – Member wishes to exercise their right to strike and will not attend work.
Option 2 – Member chooses not to strike and will provide a normal working function.
Please Note:
- Industrial Action will take place between 0000hrs and 2359hrs on 11 January 2023. Staff starting or finishing their shifts outside of these hours, will be expected to be at work as normal.
- Where possible, staff working to agreed exemptions will not work outside their dispatch area. However, by exception, a crew may be required to go further afield, however we will try to keep this to a minimum.
- All responses to those who have agreed to work under exemptions will be activated from the picket line via a verbal request (where there is no picket line, mobilisation will be via station telephone)
- No radios will be on the picket line by staff exercising their right to strike, however, once a job has been accepted the member must turn on their radio and log on to their Mobile Data Terminal until they are back at base for safety purposes. Outside of the operating hours of picket lines – which are stated to be 0700 until 1900 – jobs will be distributed via the station phone or handheld radio on the manager channel.
- When travelling back to base, if an open channel Category 1 broadcast is made with details of the incident, you can respond if you feel it is appropriate. However, you are under no obligation to do so.
Your Pay
Payment – A&E ambulance staff
- Members who choose Option 3 will be paid from when the call is accepted to when they return to base.
- Members who choose Option 2 or 4 will be paid for the full shift as normal provided they continue working to those exemptions for the full period of the shift.
Payment – Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services staff
- Members who choose Option 2 or 3 will be paid for the full shift as normal provided they continue working to those exemptions for the full period of the shift.
Payment – Emergency Operations Centre staff (all staff)
- Members who choose Option 2 (or 3 for CAT) will be paid for the full shift as normal provided they continue working to those exemptions for the full period of the shift.
Payment – All other staff
- Members who choose Option 2 will be paid for the full shift as normal provided they continue working to those exemptions for the full period of the shift.
Strike Pay from GMB
Further information will be announced in the coming days regarding strike pay, the criteria for claiming and how to claim.