YAS UNISON A&E MEMBERS INDUSTRIAL ACTION BALLOT

Yorkshire Ambulance Branch has been given the go ahead from both region and national committees to undertake a full industrial action ballot for all A&E members, this ballot will be sent to all A&E members home addresses.

The timetable for the action is below

Ballot notice issued Thursday 10 July

Ballot opens/papers despatched Thursday 17 July

Ballot closes/results issued Wednesday 6 August

Action notice issued Monday 11 August

Earliest date of action Monday 18 August

PLEASE VOTE YES IN THE FORTHCOMING BALLOT TO ENSURE WE CAN MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE WORKING CONDITIONS

· Not adhering to the agreed workforce plan

· Breaking agreements recently agreed in The Operational Redesign

· Private ambulances on the streets of Yorkshire

· Lack of acknowledgment that the Operational Redesign changes did not work

· Still no urgent tier, weeks after it was agreed that its removal was a mistake and the acknowledgment that it could cost us contracts due to high costs

· Late meal breaks, members going excessive lengths of time before getting a break which is adversely affecting their health

· Excessive end of shift overtime

· Band 4 work for band 3 pay

· Paramedic review hitting a brick wall

· Technicians feeling under threat

· Members struggling to get leave

· Constant pressure on turnarounds

· Ever increasing workloads and responsibility

· And many more

ECA members may feel that the recent communication around training them up band 4 is a good deal and enhances their career prospects, UNISON has major concerns and believes the offer breaks agenda for change terms and conditions around job evaluation, it basically trains you to band 4, you work as band 4 for two further years but only receive band 3 pay, good deal?

It is only being offered in order to get ECAs working together NOW and why should we believe it is going to happen over the next 3 years when the Trust fail to adhere to agreements made only a few weeks ago.

UNISON will continue to push for a Band 4 role within A&E but condemns the current enforced working practice of two band 3 members responding to 999 calls purely as money saving and performance enhancing exercise with very little consideration given to patients and UNISON members

UNISON urges the Trust to adhere to the agreed policies and procedures to avoid the ever more likely threat of industrial action highlighted above. If they ignore UNISONs request it will only reinforce the feeling of complete distrust and strengthen the need for UNISON members to vote YES thereby ensuring that the Trust don’t enforce more changes to existing policies without negotiation.