ALMOST 1,500 ambulance workers across Yorkshire will walk out for two days of strike action either side of Christmas.

The GMB union says paramedics, emergency care assistants, call handlers and other staff will take part in 24-hour strikes on December 21 and December 28.

They are among more than 10,000 ambulance workers across the country who will take part in strike action over the Government’s imposed four per cent pay award – which the GMB says represents ‘another massive real terms pay cut’.

The GMB says its representatives will meet with Yorkshire Ambulance Service managers to discuss requirements for ‘life and limb cover’ to reduce the impact on the most critically ill patients.

GMB national secretary Rachael Harrison said: “Ambulance workers – like other NHS workers – are on their knees.

“Demoralised and downtrodden, they’ve faced twelve years of Conservative cuts to the service and their pay packets, fought on the frontline of a global pandemic and now face the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.

“No one in the NHS takes strike action lightly – today shows just how desperate they are.

“This is as much about unsafe staffing levels and patient safety as it is about pay. A third of GMB ambulance workers think delays they’ve been involved with have led to the death of a patient.

“Something has to change or the service as we know it will collapse.

“GMB calls on the Government to avoid a Winter of NHS strikes by negotiating a pay award that these workers deserve.”

The Press has approached the Yorkshire Ambulance Service for a response.