GMB Ambulance Trade Union forced to take strike action
30 July 2018

Most people’s jobs are valued in a particular way to determine what that person should earn or be paid. NHS employees are no different, however, NHS Paramedics are being treated somewhat differently by their employer North West Ambulance, because they

have made Paramedics wait some 13 years (and they are still waiting) to get their jobs properly evaluated.

 

They thought they had finally got their wish when an evaluation was finally carried out in June 2017. However, this was pulled at the eleventh hour because NWAS senior managers cried foul.

Senior managers within NWAS had met with Directors of NHS employers to see what they could do to stop the process and were successful in persuading the national job evaluation group (JEG) to halt the process.

We don’t know why, but suspect they had found out the outcome and it was not what they wanted.

 

This is why paramedics are now asking for an independent investigation into what has happened and for their role as they were carrying out in 2004 to be independently evaluated by an expert external to the NHS.

NWAS, JEG and NHS employers are refusing to listen to our concerns, ACAS have offered conciliation which NWAS have refused and there are no further meetings planned.

 

During the same period of time senior managers within NWAS have had pay bands uplifted without proper evaluation resulting in massive pay increases. However, when the GMB questioned the process we were told “evaluation, review, check what does it

matter” but in the case of paramedics the process was halted because no one opened a book after their evaluation.

 

The GMB had lost confidence in the job evaluation process within NWAS because of this disregard to process for managerial posts but the way this management have treated their paramedic staff is the final straw.

Please show support for your paramedics

 

GMB North West & Irish Region

GMB Ambulance trade union members strike at Fazakerly ambulance station