Iran Press/ Europe: Thousands of ambulance workers have voted to strike in England and Wales in an escalation of the row over NHS pay with ministers, raising the threat of widespread industrial action across the health service before Christmas.
Unite announced that its members voted by up to 92% to take action, with more details to be announced in the coming days. The GMB union also said its members had voted to strike over the government’s 4% pay award, which it described as another “massive real-terms pay cut”.
The union will meet with reps in the coming days to discuss potential strike dates over the next four weeks.
The development comes less than 24 hours after other unions representing Royal Mail workers, university lecturers, and teachers renewed their strike in protest at low payment and employment conditions.
The mass protest action saw lines forming outside Royal Mail centers, universities, and further education colleges.
The University and College Union (UCU) General Secretary Jo Grady said, "University staff are prepared to do whatever it takes to win decent pay, secure employment, and fair pensions, and vice chancellors need to understand that they cannot simply ride this out. Students and staff are united like never before."
The strikes come as the country is grappling with a soaring cost-of-living crisis.
Various labor unions across the UK are preparing for similar protest actions ahead of Christmas.
As many as "100,000 nurses" have also confirmed plans for joining the strikes during December.
The government has warned of a challenging winter if services stopped working.
Experts say the soaring cost-of-living crisis has engulfed the whole of Europe, with workers going on strike every now and then across the continent, disrupting both local and international schedules, particularly during holidays.
They link the soaring living costs in Europe, in particular, and partially in the entire world, in general, to COVID-19 and the Ukraine war.
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