Ambulance union baron tells Rishi Sunak to come out of 'hiding' trends now
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.
GMB union ambulance workers on the picket line outside the Donnington Ambulance Hub, in Donnington, near Telford, Shropshire on January 23
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
