“Thank You” to all members who supported and took Industrial Action throughout 2023. You were present on picket lines and at rallies throughout the province which was very evident from the social media and press coverage.
In the absence of a meaningful pay offer, the continuance of ASOS and further days of Industrial Action will be necessary in the oncoming months. This will ensure increased pressure on the Department of Health and the Secretary of State.
There has been widespread media coverage of the next day of planned industrial action on 18th January 2024. The UNISON Ambulance Branch will be fully involved in this strike action and will join colleagues from Health and Social Care, Education and all other Public Services to send a clear message to the Secretary of State.
We will not be used as political pawns to resolve the ongoing crisis in the Northern Ireland Assembly. We will not allow this Secretary of State to continue to discriminate against all HSCNI staff by withholding a pay offer that would re-establish pay parity with our colleagues in the other Nations and all further escalations and strike action are firmly as a result of the Secretary of States failure to act.
Following a meeting of the UNISON Industrial Action Committee on 8th January 2024 the Ambulance Branch can confirm that there will be 24 hours of Strike action from 00.01 to 23.59 on 18th January 2024.
Strike notices will be issued to the employer (NIASHSCT) on 11th January 2024 informing NIAS of UNISON’s intention to take strike action. There will then be a further communique detailing the job roles and strike action to be taken with confirmation of locations for picket lines and details of parades and rallies in Belfast, Enniskillen, Omagh and Londonderry/Derry.
The current Continuous Industrial Action and Action Short of Strike Action will remain in place until a meaningful pay offer has been secured or further escalations are necessary and communicated formally.
Continuous Industrial Action – End of Shift
UNISON members have been taking continuous industrial action impacting the dispatch and response to lower acuity emergency calls in the last hour of every operational shift from Friday 20th October 2023. This action ensured that Unison members were only dispatched to appropriately triaged calls that meet the “life and limb” cover definition.
Life Preserving Services Definition (Life and Limb cover):
• Emergency intervention for the preservation of life or the prevention of permanent disability;
• Care required for therapeutic services without which life would be jeopardised or permanent disability would occur;
• Urgent diagnostic procedures and assessments are required to obtain information on potentially life-threatening conditions or conditions that could potentially lead to permanent disability
Unison members will only be dispatched to Category 1 calls and upgraded calls that meet the definition of “Life and limb” cover in the last hour of every shift.
All other agreed end-of-shift protocols that support staff and restrict the allocation of lower acuity calls in the last two hours of a shift will continue to apply.
This is continuous industrial action that members should observe unless informed otherwise in a further UNISON communique.
Action short of strike (ASOS) January 2024
• Working strictly to individual terms and conditions of employment.
• Working strictly to health and safety protocols.
• Withdrawal from all union /management /department engagement except where failure to engage would incur a detrimental impact on a member or members.
• Not managing any additional work or processes that result from the ongoing industrial action including logistics at the start and end of designated shifts.
• Not doing any other work outside of an employee’s job description and is the clear responsibility of another job role.
• Strict adherence to start times and finish times. (specific and limited derogations apply to finish times for operational crews)
• Refusing to have breaks interrupted.
• Not starting early to accept or provide handovers before the start of a designated shift.
• Not starting or booking on early to answer calls, complete vehicle checks / VDIs etc. These should be commenced at the shift start time.
• Relief staff will start and finish at their base station. They will not use their personal transport / private cars for transport to other locations.
• EAC will only dispatch calls to operational crews in line with the current industrial action impacting the last hour of every operational shift.
Local UNISON Shop Stewards and H&S Reps should be contacted if further information is required. NIAS has been given due notice of this action short of a strike, as per legislative requirements.
End of communique
