Ambulance union baron tells Rishi Sunak to come out of ‘hiding’

Rishi Sunak was today urged to ‘come out of hiding’ by union chiefs who accused him of dodging vital pay negotiations needed to end NHS strikes. 

Unite boss Sharon Graham accused the PM of being of ‘missing in action’ in efforts to end the dispute and called on him to start negotiating — hitting out at the Health Secretary Steve Barclay for not having ‘any authority’ to make a pay offer.

Up to 20,000 ambulance staff have today taken to the picket lines across England and Wales. Patients have been urged to continue calling 999 in all life-threatening emergencies, with paramedics providing ‘life and limb’ cover.

It marks the latest round of strikes in the never-ending row over pay and conditions, which are set to rumble on for months. 

Action planned for two weeks’ time is set to be the biggest in NHS history, spanning both ambulance and nursing staff. 

NHS staff at Royal Liverpool University Hospital in Liverpool take part in strikes on January 23

Both Steve Barclay (right) and Rishi Sunak (left ) have told nurses that a 10 per cent pay rise is ‘unaffordable’ — meaning ambulance staff are unlikely to secure the pay award

Unite boss Sharon Graham has accused the Prime Minister of being of ‘missing in action’

Speaking on LBC Radio this morning, Ms Graham accused the Prime Minister of being ‘missing in action’ in efforts to resolve the ambulance strikes.

None of the meetings between union chiefs and Government officials have been about pay, according to the Unite boss.

She said: ‘What I’m calling on today is for Rishi Sunak to come out of hiding, to do his job as the leader of this country and start negotiating on this particular dispute.

‘They’ve gone on airways talking about constructive meetings. 

‘I don’t know what meetings they’re in, because they’re certainly not the same ones I’m in. I can’t put “constructive meetings” on a ballot form. 

‘I need them to come with an offer.’

In a separate interview with Sky News, Ms Graham urged Mr Sunak to ‘come to the table’ and hit out at Health Secretary Mr Barclay for not having the power to offer NHS workers any extra cash.

She said: ‘It’s very clear that Steve Barclay does not have any authority, he doesn’t have the authority to do the deal.’

So there is ‘no point’ in having any more discussions with Mr Barclay but Mr Sunak is ‘the CEO of this employer’ and should ‘come to the table’ so ambulance staff can ‘get back to work’, Ms Graham said. 

She added: ‘The Prime Minister has absolutely not spoken to us about this in any way, shape or form. This is his responsibility. 

‘This is the biggest abdication of leadership that I have seen in negotiations ever in 30 years of negotiating. 

‘He needs to do the job he’s paid for – get around the table so these people now can get back to work.’

The calendar shows planned strike dates among NHS staff in the coming months. Nurses are on strike on January 18 and 19 and return to picket lines on February 6 and 7. The next ambulance strike is on January 23, followed by February 6 and 20 and March 6 and 20. NHS physiotherapists hold their first strike action on January 26 and then again on February 9 

NHS England data shows ambulance handover delays have fallen to their lowest level this winter. Less than one in four (23 per cent) of ambulance patients waited 30 minutes or longer last week before being handed to A&E teams, down from 36 per cent a week earlier (red line)

Just one in ten ambulance patients (9 per cent) waited more than one hour to be handed over to A&E teams — another record low this winter down from 19 per cent in the previous week

NHS ambulance data for December shows that 999 callers classed as category two — which includes heart attacks, strokes, burns and epilepsy — waited 1 hour, 32 minutes and 54 seconds, on average, for paramedics to arrive (shown in red bar). This is five-times longer than the 18-minute target (shown in green line). This is despite category 2 cases falling slightly to 368,042 (shown in yellow bar)

The Unite boss has called for a pay rise in the ‘ballpark’ of 10 per cent for ambulance staff, while the Royal College of Nursing, which is coordinating nursing strikes, has urged ministers for a nearly 20 per cent pay hike — though it has said it would meet in the middle. 

Both Mr Barclay and the PM have told nurses that a 10 per cent pay rise is ‘unaffordable’ — meaning ambulance staff are unlikely to secure the pay award.

They argue it would take £3.6billion away from ‘essential’ NHS services where investment is needed to tackle the backlog of more than 7million people in England. 

Ms Graham added: ‘I’m the leader of the biggest private sector union – the private sector wouldn’t operate like this in negotiations of this calibre.

‘The CEO will be in a room with me, would be negotiating and put a deal back to the members. That’s what the Government needs to do.

‘Either Rishi Sunak isn’t up to the job and he doesn’t know how to negotiate, or there’s something more sinister going on here.’

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she accused Mr Sunak of not wanting to resolve the dispute with NHS staff and instead having a ‘sinister’ agenda to privatise the health service.

Ms Graham said: ‘The public are behind the NHS workers getting a pay rise. We have the money for the NHS workers getting a pay rise. We’re the fifth richest economy in the entire world. 

‘Why are they not coming to the table? I believe they have an agenda in terms of privatising the NHS.’

She pointed to comments from former Health Secretary Sajid Javid this weekend, who called for Brits to be charged a fee for GP appointments and A&E visits — as a ‘flag to see how it flew’.

However, Sara Gorton, head of health at the Unison union, blamed the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt for blocking any pay offer to NHS staff.

Ambulance workers respond to an emergency call amid a union strike, at Longley Ambulance Station in Sheffield, on January 23 

NHS staff at Royal Liverpool University Hospital in Liverpool take part in strikes on January 23

NHS staff at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool take part in strikes on January 23

NHS staff at Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool take part in strikes on January 23

Ambulance staff who are members of the GMB union on the picket line outside the Donnington Ambulance Hub, in Donnington, near Telford, Shropshire on January 23

Ambulance staff who are members of the GMB union on the picket line outside the Donnington Ambulance Hub, in Donnington, near Telford, Shropshire on January 23

Ambulance staff who are members of the GMB union on the picket line outside the Donnington Ambulance Hub, in Donnington, near Telford, Shropshire on January 23

Ambulance staff who are members of the GMB union on the picket line outside the Donnington Ambulance Hub, in Donnington, near Telford, Shropshire on January 23

Ambulance workers on the picket line outside Croydon Street Ambulance Station in Bristol on January 23

NHS staff at Royal Liverpool University Hospital in Liverpool take part in strikes on January 23

She said: ‘[It] is really ironic because Jeremy Hunt, only a few short months ago was writing reports as chair of the (Health and Social Care) Select Committee, talking about the investment that’s needed to resolve the workforce emergency in the NHS.

‘He knows more than anybody else what is needed. 

‘He’s also worked with unions very constructively to resolve disputes before — he worked with Unison and other health unions to resolve the 2014/15 pay dispute.

‘So he’s got a track record in working with us to do this. We just want him to do that again. And to put a stop to this before any more strikes are necessary.’ 

Up to 18,600 ambulance staff have taken to picket lines across England and Wales today in a bitter row over pay and working conditions.

The figure includes up to 15,000 Unison members, around 1,000 ambulance workers in the West Midlands who are members of the GMB union and more than 2,600 Unite members in the West Midlands, North West, North East, East Midlands and Wales.

As well as paramedics, emergency care assistants, ambulance technicians, other 999 crew members and control room staff are also walking out. 

As part of the Unison action, 5,000 porters, cleaners, nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants and theatre staff at Liverpool University Hospitals Trust and the city’s Heart and Chest Hospital are also striking. 

Both Mr Barclay and NHS England medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis have urged the public to continue to call 999 in life-threatening emergencies and come forward for NHS care as they usually would, despite the strike action.

As with previous strike days, unions have committed to providing life and limb cover.

There are seven more days of strike action are planned over the next two months among ambulance staff, nurses and physiotherapists.

Health chiefs have warned of the damage that the long-running disputes are causing to the NHS. 

Thousands more hospital appointments and operations will be cancelled over the next few months in response to reduced capacity on strike days.

And the loss of ambulance workers will lead to long delays or some patients getting no ambulance sent to them at all. 

Health chiefs are most concerned about walk-outs on February 6, when nurses and 999 crews will join picket lines on the same day — set to be the biggest day of strikes in the history of the NHS.

Ms Graham said: ‘There’s many, many days between now and February 6.

‘I hope the Government come to their senses, get the general secretaries around the table – we will be there any time, any place, anywhere – and do this deal.

‘So, I really hope that February 6 doesn’t go ahead because the Government puts an offer on the table.

‘If they don’t do that, of course it will go ahead (and) it will be a very bad day for the NHS, everybody will feel that.’